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

Abstract

Biographical notes of Mary (Mamie) Agard PocockM ary A gard Pocock was born on 31 D ecem ber 1886 at Rondebosch (Jacot G uillarm od 1978). A fter com plet ing her secondary education in England, she gained a B.Sc. degree in botany, geology and m athem atics from London U niversity in 1908.She did not confine herself to teaching and academ ic studies, but becam e an accom plished photographer, developing and printing her own studies, with excellent results, w hich in those early days was a m ajor feat (Figure 1). She becam e a com petent w ater colourist, a skill she used to good effect during her expedition to A ngola.In 1917, the U niversity of Cape Town granted her a B.Sc. degree a d eundem gradum and in 1919, she returned to C am bridge, E ngland, to do advanced work under Prof. A.C. Sew ard, gaining her H onours degree from the London U niversity in 1921. as Cam bridge did not adm it w om en to degrees until decades later. M ary then taught science and m athem atics, both in England and at the Cape, for several years. During part o f 1923, she lectured in a tem porary capacity at W itw atersrand University. She then acted as a tem porary lecturer, and was m ade acting head o f the Botany D epartm ent at R hodes U niversity C ollege (1924, 1929. 1938. 1942 and 19 5 0 's). M ary Pocock was instrum ental in the establish ment o f the Rhodes U niversity H erbarium in 1942, w hich was incorporated into the Selm ar Schonland H erbarium o f the A lbany M useum , G raham stow n (GRA ) in 1993. The P ocock collection, num bering som e 28 (KM) specim ens, has been housed in the herbarium o f the A lbany M useum since 1967. M any o f the Pocock speci m ens are algae, in particular the genus Volvox, which Botanical expedition to AngolaTo undertake an expedition to a virtually From the Westhoven's Farm in Katombora, they trav elled by boat, (dugout canoes) to Kazungula, being poled along by local people hired for this purpose. The many rapids were bypassed on foot, the equipment being car ried by porters, of whom up to 17 were engaged at a time. w ere also part o f the load. O ccasionally the tw o w om en w ould ride in a 'm a ch ila', a ham m ock slung on a long pole, usually roofed and carried by a team o f specially selected and experienced bearers. On m any occasions they preferred to w alk; M ary P ocock to collect plant specim ens on the w ay and D orothea Bleek to m ake co n tact w ith and study the very shy B ushm en they en co u n tered along the route.The pitching o f cam p was left to those porters who usually arrived at a predeterm ined destination first, as those porters carrying the heavy canvas tents, anxious to get rid o f their bulky load, often overtook the collecting botanist and M iss Bleek. A rrangem ents for food prepara tion and other hom e com forts o f the expedition were m ainly left to the guide, and consisted o f a m onotonous diet o f lum py m ealie meal (m aize m eal) porridge, much to the distress o f a fellow m ale traveller, who accom pa nied the tw o ladies for a short distance. P ro...

A taxonomic revision of Acanthaceae tribe Barlerieae in Angola and Namibia. Part 1

“…The precise localities of some of the early collections from both countries proved difficult to pinpoint with accuracy; this included many of the localities from Welwitsch's three Angolan expeditions (see Albuquerque & Correia 2009). Some itineraries of early expeditions proved to be useful in pinpointing localities, particularly for the expeditions of Mary Pocock (Balarin et al 1999) and Hugo Baum (Figueiredo et al 2009). The distribution maps were produced using QGIS version 2.14.4 (available online a t h t t p s : / / w w w .…”

“…NOTES. The Pocock collection cannot be placed with certainty, as Lukona is in West Zambia whilst Menongue is some hundreds of kilometres to the west in South-Central Angola (see Balarin et al 1999). It suggests that this species is widespread in Southeast Angola.…”

A taxonomic revision of Acanthaceae tribe Barlerieae in Angola and Namibia. Part 2

“…This record was based on the specimen Pocock 214 which was collected on 9 May 1925, with the locality recorded as "Rhodesia-Angola, woodland near Kassassa". However, based on the itinerary of Mary Pocock's travels set out in Balarin et al (1999) and her diary entries reproduced in Dold & Kelly (2018), it is clear that she did not cross from Zambia into Angola until approx. 12 May 1925 (she was in the border area on 11 th Mayher numbers 248 onwards) and, although Kassassa has not been precisely located, it is believed to have been on the Zambian side of the border near Lukona.…”

“…12 May 1925 (she was in the border area on 11 th Mayher numbers 248 onwards) and, although Kassassa has not been precisely located, it is believed to have been on the Zambian side of the border near Lukona. Tellingly, Pocock 241, a specimen of Drosera indica L., is labelled as "between Kassassa and Angolan border" (Balarin et al 1999). In light of this information, B. purpureotincta reverts to being a Zambian endemic.…”