GIDEON SMITH is Chief Director: Biosystematics Research and Biodiversity Collections at the SA National Biodiversity Institute. He is involved in various national and international environmental associations and advisory committees. His interests are in the biology and classification of succulent plants, as well as landscaping and horticulture. South Africa s most prolific author on succulent plants, he has authored or co-authored 40 books, and more than 500 research and popular papers, mostly on succulents.
