Christo Albertyn Smith

Christo Albertyn Smith (1898–1956) was a South African botanist. He co-wrote a definitive dictionary of common names of South African plants, although it was only published after his death.[3]

Christo Albertyn Smith
Born(1898-04-26)26 April 1898
Boksburg, South Africa
Died23 November 1956(1956-11-23) (aged 58)
Canberra, Australia
Alma materUniversity of Stellenbosch[1]
Known forCommon names of South African plants
Spouse(s)Bertha Edith Thorold[2]
ChildrenLillemor Elizabeth Smith
Christopher John Smith
Scientific career
FieldsBotany
InstitutionsKew Herbarium, London
Natal Witness, Pietermaritzburg
Division of Plant Science, Pretoria

Education and career

Smith was born in Boksburg, South Africa in 1898. He completed his BSc in 1920 at the University of Stellenbosch after which he worked as a high school biology teacher (1921 - 1924). He joined the professional staff of the Division of Plant Science of the National Herbarium in Pretoria in 1925 and became Botanical Liaison officer at the Kew Herbarium in London from 1928 - 1931. During his career he collected 4600 samples of flora including Crassulaceae, Fabaceae, Amaranthaceae, Vitaceae, Asteraceae, Celastraceae, Scrophulariaceae, Brassicaceae, Scilloideae, Oleaceae, Geraniaceae, Poaceae, Portulacaceae and Rutaceae, most of which were stored in Pretoria and Kew.[1][4]

Brassicaceae: Winter cress, Barbarea vulgaris

He retired from academia in 1931 and entered journalism. He worked as agricultural editor for the Natal Witness in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa.[4]

He worked for the Department of State Information, South Africa from 1946 and was posted to Canberra, Australia as Information Officer in 1954.[1][4]

He died in 1956 in Canberra, Australia.[1][4]

Selected publications
  • Albizia gummifera Smith, C.A. Bulletin of Miscellaneous Information, Royal Gardens, Kew 1930(5): 218. 1930 [6]
  • Smith, C.A.; Phillips, E.P.; Van Hoepen, E. (1966). Common names of South African plants. Botanical Survey memoir No. 35. Department of Agricultural Technical Services.

Sources

References
  1. Cowan, Richard S.; Stafleu, Frans A. (1979). Taxonomic literature. Biodiversity Heritage Library. 5. Utrecht: Bohn, Scheltema & Holkema. ISBN 9789031302246. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
  2. "Person Page - Christo Albertyn Smith". The Peerage. 28 October 2012. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
  3. "Famous People & Personalities - Part 20 - The Green Dragon". LibraryThing. 24 December 1999. Retrieved 24 July 2019. Institute legend has it that the editing had to be quite severe, as otherwise it would have made history as the only government publication ever to be banned by the same government, on account of the salty names of many South African plants.
  4. Moffett, R. (2008). A Biographical Dictionary of Contributors to the Natural History of the Free State and Lesotho. SUN MeDIA Bloemfontein. p. 263. ISBN 978-1-920382-34-6. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
  5. IPNI.  C.A.Sm.
  6. "Name - Albizia gummifera (J.F. Gmel.) C.A. Sm". Tropicos. 24 July 2019. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
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