Gymnosporia heterophylla - African Spikethorn tree
Education and career
Prins graduated from the University of Stellenbosch with a BSc in Botany. She completed her BSc(Hons) and MSc at the University of Pretoria. She obtained a PhD in botany with a thesis on Spikethorns of the world (Gymnosporia, Celastraceae). She was also involved in the development of a website containing information on South African trees aimed at both amateurs and scientists.[2]
She assisted the authors with research for the book "Trees and Shrubs of Mpumalanga and The Kruger Park", published in 2002. She also corrected instances in the book where a plant had previously been described as a new variety and was later reclassified as a new species.[3][4]
She worked at the South African National Biodiversity Institute[5] and in 1999, she was listed as a Scientific officer for the National Herbarium involved in plant identification services and curation of the collection of flora, with special interest trees of southern Africa.[6]
Research and workshops
One study that Prins was involved in included 14 of the 17 genera accepted in the family Combretaceae, including 101 species and subspecies, in an effort to determine phylogenetic relationships.[7] Samples were collected from field trips to:
From 2008, Prins was involved in the annual summer-rainfall four-day workshop of the SANBI at Umtamvuna Nature Reserve, KwaZulu-Natal. She presented a Gymnosporia identification course for CREW (Custodians of Rare and Endangered Wildflowers) volunteers, students and members of the provincial conservation agencies.[8]
In 2018 the Botanical Society of South Africa awarded Prins funding for "a taxonomic revision of part of the genus Olea". Taxonomy provides critical basic information to other branches of Botany (including conservation, environmental management and education) but is considered one of the least desirable parts of Botany and hence funding is difficult to obtain. The genus Olea had last been revised in 1963.[9]
