Rhodes University Botany
Department of Botany
[History of the Department]
The Department of Botany has a proud tradition dating back to 1905, the year after the founding of Rhodes University. It has produced many graduates who have formed important members of the Botanical community in South Africa. Rhodes trained botanists hold important positions at other Universities and Research Institutes, the Agricultural Research Council, the South African National Biodiversity Institute, Range and Forage Institute, Nature Conservation Departments and in the private sector.
The staff of the Department include Susi Vetter (HoD), Brad Ripley, Craig Peter, Julie Coetzee and Tony Dold and two emeritus professors, Roy Lubke and Ted Botha. Collectively, staff members possess a broad range of botanical expertise including rangeland ecology, conservation ecology, plant population ecology, pollination biology, evolutionary biology, mangrove and estuarine ecology, coastal ecology, ecophysiology, functional plant anatomy, coastal management, rehabilitation and disturbance ecology, molecular systematics and biogeography. The department is closely associated with the Selmar Schonland Herbarium.
The broad interests of the staff translates into a rounded, relevant and up-to-date undergraduate curriculum and numerous opportunities for postgraduate study at the honours, MSc and PhD level. At the honours level, the Department of Botany, in collaboration with the Department of Environmental Science, has introduced a new hourse course, Biodiversity and Conservation to complement the redesigned Botany honours course. To find out more, please visit the respective webpages of these exciting new courses:
- Biodiversity and Conservation Honours
- Botany Honours
