Darrel Charles Herbert Plowes
Darrel Charles Herbert Plowes (born April 4, 1925 in Estcourt , † October 19, 2016 in Mutare ), was a South African naturalist and botanist. Its official botanical author abbreviation is " Plowes ".
Life
After attending Estcourt High School in 1941, he worked for a year as a diamond prospector in the Consolidated Diamond Mines. In 1943 he entered the military service of the Union Defense Force , where he was trained in a corps for surveying and aerial mapping. From September 1944 he was assigned to the 5th US Army and stationed in Italy until 1945.
After returning to South Africa, he studied at Witwatersrand University and obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Agriculture, Soil Conservation and Ecology. He then worked at the Matopo Research Station in what was then Rhodesia . From 1949 he worked as regional director for the province of Manicaland and worked there until 1982. After working abroad for several years, Plowes returned to Mutare in 1995.
Plowes spent his life doing field research and collecting rare plants. Among other things, he discovered the endemic Euphorbia clivicola in South Africa . Some of the animal and plant species he discovered were named after him, for example: Typhlosaurus plowesii , Bathyergus janetta plowesii , Aloeides plowesii , Dierama plowesii , Aloe plowesii and Huernia plowesii .
He had devoted his whole life to researching the stapelies . The research trips took him to eighteen countries. Its activity is evidenced by more than 6,000 specimens in the herbaria of Harare , Pretoria and Kew . He is one of the founders of the Mutare Museum in Zimbabwe and was also a member of the Board of Trustees.
He was a member of the Cactus and Succulent Society of America and the Aloe, Cactus and Succulent Society of Zimbabwe.
literature
- Tom A. McCoy: Darrel CH Plowes † (1925–2016) Exceptional naturalist, botanist and friend. In: Supplement to Avonia , Volume 34 (2016), Issue 4, 2016
Web links
- Author entry and list of the plant names described for Darrel Charles Herbert Plowes at the IPNI
- Short biography at the University of Zurich
- Biography at Flora of Zimbabwe (English)
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Plowes, Darrel Charles Herbert |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | South African naturalist and botanist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | April 4, 1925 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Estcourt |
| DATE OF DEATH | 19th October 2016 |
| Place of death | Mutare |