The Department of Botany at the University of Cape Town is a vibrant department which strives towards the development of a centre of excellence for research and teaching of the ecology, evolution, physiological ecology and systematics of marine and terrestrial plants, particularly as they relate to the flora of the Southwestern Cape Region of South Africa. All the members of teaching staff are among the top local research scientists in their fields and the department has an international reputation. Cape Town is one of the centres of plant diversity (known as 'hot spots') in the world. There are more plant species per area in our region than just about anywhere else.
The department is involved in a number of research projects, which attract international funding and include links with African countries, as well as the USA, UK, Sweden, Belgium, and the Netherlands, among others. The department includes two research units, the Bolus Herbarium and the Leslie Hill Institute for Plant Conservation, and is also home to the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism chief directorate: marine and coastal management.
Areas of research include:
- systematics, floristics, biogeography and evolutionary biology of the unique Cape Floral Kingdom and its response to different land-use practices
- plant population, community, and reproductive ecology
- plant molecular systematics and angiosperm biosystematics
- bryophyte evolution and ecology
- biogeography, ecology, and economics of marine and freshwater algae
- ecophysiology of plant responses to pollution and global change
