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Research Professor
Name: Ben-Erik van Wyk
Location: D2 LAB 233 Auckland Park Kingsway Campus
Botany & Plant Biotechnology Academic Staff Staff Members
Contact Details:
Tel: +27 (0)11 559 2412
Email: bevanwyk@uj.ac.za
Curriculum Vitae Ben-Erik van WykAbout Prof Ben-Erik van Wyk
Primary Expertise: Plant taxonomy, Ethnobotany, Indigenous plant use
Secondary Expertise: Classificaiton and identification of plants; useful plants; medicinal plants; edible plants; plant chemistry; plant toxicology (poisonous plants); traditional medicine, indigenous knowledge
DST/NRF SARChI National Research Chair in Indigenous Plant Use, Tier 1 (2013–2022)
Expertise: Plant taxonomy, Ethnobotany, Indigenous plant use (classification and identification of plants; medicinal plants; edible plants; plant chemistry; plant toxicology; traditional medicine, indigenous knowledge).
NRF Rating: B1
H-factor: Scopus = 40 (6083 citations, ca. 400-600 citations per year); Google Scholar = 60 (including academic books; 17 877 citations, ca. 1 400 per year)
Visiting Professor: Center for Biotic Products, National Polytechnic Institute, Mexico (2014–)
Supervised 25 MSc and 16 PhD students
Research activities:
1.Taxonomy, systematics and chemosystematics of African plant families, mainly Apiaceae (Umbelliferae), Fabaceae (African genistoid legumes) and Asphodelaceae (Aloe and related genera).
2.Medicinal plants and ethnobotany, including Khoi-San and Cape Dutch ethnobotany, quality control, product and crop development.
Other activities:
- Chairman of the Aloe Council of South Africa (Pty) Ltd.
- Chairman of the Indigenous Plant Use Forum
- Member of the Association for African Medicinal Plant Standards (AAMPS)
- Member of Briza Publications CC
- Member of the Presidential Task Team on African Traditional Medicine
- Commercialisation of indigenous African plants
- Member of Editorial Boards: South African Journal of Botany (Elsevier), Phytotaxa and Biodiversity
- Book author