Selinda Herbarium research

Alison Heath collects grass seeds

HOORC's Library has had visitors, Roger and Alison Heath, who are working on identifying and collecting plants in the Linyanti area on the Kwando River boundary with Namibia. Their project, the Selinda Herbarium, begun in 2001 under research permits from the Botswana Government, is supported by Linyanti Explorations. Plant samples are contributed to the Botswana National Museum, HOORC's Peter Smith Herbarium and the Royal Botanical Gardens (RBG) Kew. Determinations of the plants are carried out by the Botswana National Museum and RBG Kew. The Heaths have created a database of their findings -- descriptions of some 650 plants with photographs of pressed and in situ plants, local names, beliefs and uses, habitats and associated plants. RBG Kew has allowed descriptions from the Flora Zambesiaca to be included in the database and will publish a field guide and electronic resource based on the Heath's work.