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Diversity of plants in Africa

Natural and mathematical sciences

Harnessing big data and zeta diversity to explain African plant distributions

Africa’s plant diversity 

There are >40,000 native vascular plant species recorded in mainland sub-Saharan Africa. Despite the impressive species list, much of...

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Researchers have overturned a long-held theory that gigantic dragonfly-like insects could only have existed 300 million years ago because atmospheric oxygen levels were about 45% higher than they are today.

Media release

Insect body size is not constrained by atmospheric oxygen

Two researchers from Stellenbosch University (SU) were part of the team, led by researchers from the University of Pretoria (UP) and Adelaide University, that...

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New species of magic mushroom is indigenous to Southern Africa

Media release

New African species confirms evolutionary origin of magic mushrooms

A long-standing debate about the evolutionary origin of the world’s most widely cultivated “magic mushroom” – Psilocybe cubensis – may now have been settled by...

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The interior of the SUBG arid house

Conservation and forestry

Stellenbosch University Botanical Garden joins the call for an improved global data ecosystem to support living plant collections

A recently published perspective piece, co-authored by the late Dr. Donovan Kirkwood, former Curator of the SUBG, and acting Curator Annerie Senekal, alongside...

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A weeping bottlebrush (Melaleuca viminalis) along the Eerste River - this species has invaded a substantial stretch of the river and is spreading rapidly downstream from Stellenbosch.

Media release

Eerste River study needs your help – students, hikers, landowners and other stakeholders

Stellenbosch University’s Centre for Invasion Biology is embarking on a comprehensive benchmarking exercise to establish the status of plant invasions along the...

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A picture of flamingos, wildebeest, and zebras drinking at waterhole.

Media release

Sub-Saharan Africa has lost nearly a quarter of its biodiversity

A new African-led study finds that sub-Saharan Africa has already lost 24% of its biodiversity since pre-industrial times. This means that, on average, the...

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Heide Hackmann

Arts, languages and social sciences

UN Expert Panel co-chaired by Crest, Dr Heide Hackmann releases latest report on Climate and SDG’s synergies

On 24-25 September 2025, the Third Global Report on Climate and SDG Synergies (2025), prepared by the Expert Group including our very own Crest, Dr Heide...

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