People
Beentje, Henk J.
| Job Title | Botanist, Dryland Africa; Flora editor |
|---|---|
| Department | Herbarium |
| Section | Regional Teams |
| Science Teams |
Drylands: Africa |
| Joined Kew | 1995 |
| Foreign Language(s) | Dutch, French, German, Latin (basic), Italian (basic), Spanish (basic) |
Qualifications & Appointments
BSc, Univ. of Amsterdam 1973
MSc, Univ. of Amsterdam 1978
PhD, Univ. of Wageningen 1982
Editor, Journal of the East Africa Natural History Society (1985-89)
Editor, Utafiti: Occas. Pap. of the National Museums of Kenya (1987-89)
Co-convenor, DIVERSITAS subgroup element 3 (1998-2000)
IUCN/SSC East African Plant Specialist Group
Botanical editor, Systematics & Biodiversity.
Role
African plants especially trees and Compositae; endemism; Floras and field guides.
Taxonomic treatments have concentrated on Flora treatments and field guides of African plant groups, concentrating on East African plants. There is well-established collaboration with African colleagues from Kenya, Uganda, Mozambique, Ethiopia and Madagascar. A key task is the editing of Flora treatments for Flora of Tropical East Africa, and production of this Flora, the writing of treatments (Compositae, Aspleniaceae, Ericaceae, Restionaceae, Cymodoceaceae, Hydnoraceae, several other small families, glossary). In tandem with this, identification of plants from East Africa (mostly Compositae) and Madagascar (mostly Compositae, Palmae) take up considerable time, with 500–800 identifications per year. During 2004–5 much time was taken up with editing of the 2003 AETFAT Proceedings. Other interests are publications on degrees of endemism in East African Flora; East African trees; Somali and Malesian Compositae; and Madagascar palms.
Projects
Co-Evolution at the Plant-Animal Interface
Conservation Checklist of the Trees of Uganda
Field Guide to the Palms of Madagascar
Field Guides: Published and Planned
Interactive Key to African Plants
Publication of 2003 AETFAT Proceedings
Understanding and Conserving the Earth’s Biodiversity Hotspots (HOTSPOTS)
Selected Publications 2001-2005
Beentje, H.J. (2002). Compositae, pt 2. Flora of Tropical East Africa. Rotterdam: Balkema. Pp 232
Beentje, H.J. & Smith, S.A.L. (2002). FTEA and after. In Robbrecht, E., Degreef, J. & Friis, I. (eds) Plant systematics and phytogeography for the understanding of African biodiversity. Proc. 16th AETFAT Congress. Meise, Belgium: National Botanic Garden. 265-290.
Beentje, H.J. & Cheek, M. (2003). Glossary. Flora of Tropical East Africa. Lisse: Balkema. Pp 116.
Beentje, H.J., Jeffrey, C. & Hind, D.J.N. (2005). Compositae, pt 3. Flora of Tropical East Africa. Kew: Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Pp 322.
Selected Publications pre-2001
Coe, M. & Beentje, H.J. (1991). A field guide to the Acacias of Kenya. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Pp 148.
Beentje, H.J. (1994). Kenya Trees, Shrubs and Lianas. National Museums of Kenya, Nairobi, ix + 722 pages.
Beentje, H.J. et al. (1994). Regional overview: Africa. In Heywood, V. et al. (eds) Centres of Plant Diversity, 1. Cambridge: IUCN Publications Unit. 101-264.
Dransfield, J. & Beentje, H.J. (1995). The palms of Madagascar. Kew: Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Pp xii+475.
Jeffrey, C. & Beentje, H.J. (2000). Compositae, pt 1. Flora of Tropical East Africa. Kew: Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Pp 312.