Marie Prins facts for kids

Marie Prins, born in 1948, is a famous South African botanist. A botanist is a scientist who studies plants. After she got married, her name became Marie Jordaan. She has spent her career studying many different types of plants, especially trees and shrubs.

The African Spikethorn tree (Gymnosporia heterophylla) is one of the plants Marie Prins studied.

Education and Early Career

Marie Prins studied at the University of Stellenbosch. There, she earned her first degree in Botany. She then continued her studies at the University of Pretoria. She received her Master's degree and later a PhD in botany. A PhD is the highest university degree you can get. Her PhD research focused on a group of plants called Spikethorns, specifically the Gymnosporia genus.

Marie also helped create a website about South African trees. This website was made for both plant experts and people who just love learning about nature. She also helped with a book called "Trees and Shrubs of Mpumalanga and The Kruger Park". She made sure the plant information in the book was correct.

Before 1999, Marie worked at the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI). She was a Scientific Officer at the National Herbarium. Her job included identifying plants and looking after the plant collection. She was especially interested in the trees of southern Africa.

Plant Research and Workshops

Marie Prins has been involved in many important plant studies. One study looked at 14 different groups of plants in the Combretaceae family. This study included 101 species and subspecies. The goal was to understand how these plants are related to each other.

To do this research, samples were collected from many places. These included field trips to:

• South Africa (Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal provinces)
• Botswana
• Mozambique
• Namibia
• Zimbabwe

Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens in South Africa.

Samples were also gathered from botanical gardens around the world, such as:

• Lowveld National Botanical Garden (South Africa)
• Pretoria National Botanical Garden (South Africa)
• Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden (South Africa)
• National Botanic Garden, Harare (Zimbabwe)
• Honolulu Botanical Gardens (USA)
• Missouri Botanical Garden (USA)
• Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (UK)

From 2008, Marie helped with special workshops for plant enthusiasts. These workshops were held at the Umtamvuna Nature Reserve in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. She taught people how to identify Gymnosporia plants. These courses were for volunteers, students, and conservation workers.

In 2018, Marie received funding from the Botanical Society of South Africa. This money helped her study the Olea genus, which includes olive trees. This type of study is called taxonomy. Taxonomy is about finding, naming, and classifying living things. It's very important for understanding plants and helping to protect them. The Olea genus had not been fully studied since 1963, so Marie's work was very valuable.

Publications

Marie Prins has shared her knowledge in many scientific publications. She has written for journals like:

• Bothalia - African Biodiversity and Conservation
• South African Journal of Botany
• Phytotaxa
• Taxon
• Kew Bulletin

She also contributed to the book "SAPPI tree spotting | Lifer List" published in 2004.