Itinerary and specimen list of M.A. Pocock’s botanical collecting expedition in Zambia and Angola in 1925

• Main Authors: M. G. Balarin, E. Brink, H. F. Glen
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: South African National Biodiversity Institut 1999-09-01
• Series: Bothalia: African Biodiversity & Conservation
• Subjects: Angola; botanical exploration; specimen list; Zambia
• Online Access: https://abcjournal.org/index.php/abc/article/view/587

Mary Agard Pocock, bom in Rondebosch in 1886, and best known as an algologist, was also a ‘trailblazer' in the biological exploration o f Angola. She, and the ethnologist Dorothea Bleek, undertook a scientific expedition which started at Livingstone, Zambia, and ended at Lobito Bay, Angola, during the dry season, from April to October 1925. During the journey Mary Pocock collected ±  1  000 specimens in the Zambesian region o f endemism  (II).  as delineated by White (1983) o f which 12 were considered to be  species novae. Many o f the specimens were painted by Mary. Some original paintings are housed in the Selmar Schonland Herbarium, Grahamstown (GRA). She also kept detailed diaries o f her route past villages and through the different vegetation types. Collecting locations, with specimen numbers relating to her collection in the Zambesian region, are indicated. An alphabetical list o f all the species collected by Mary Pocock during this exploration has been compiled