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

Abstract

Mary Agard Pocock, bom in Rondebosch in 1886, and best known as an algologist, was also a ‘trailblazer' in the biological exploration o f Angola. She, and the ethnologist Dorothea Bleek, undertook a scientific expedition which started at Livingstone, Zambia, and ended at Lobito Bay, Angola, during the dry season, from April to October 1925.During the journey Mary Pocock collected ±  1  000 specimens in the Zambesian region o f endemism  (II).  as delineated by White (1983) o f which 12 were considered to be  species novae. Many o f the specimens were painted by Mary. Some original paintings are housed in the Selmar Schonland Herbarium, Grahamstown (GRA). She also kept detailed diaries o f her route past villages and through the different vegetation types. Collecting locations, with specimen numbers relating to her collection in the Zambesian region, are indicated. An alphabetical list o f all the species collected by Mary Pocock during this exploration has been compiled