Gideon F. Smith has held several senior management positions at the South African National Biodiversity Institute, as well as the John Acocks Chair in Botany at the University of Pretoria. He is at present attached to the Nelson Mandela University in Gqeberha and is South Africa’s most prolific author on Old and New World succulents. Among his many books, he is coauthor with Estrela Figueiredo of Plants of Angola / Plantas de Angola and Common Names of Angolan Plants.