36 
JOHN MEDLEY WOOD 
comparatively recent date. His earliest important work was the Preliminary 
Catalogue of Indigenous Natal Plants which he published in 1894. It 
contained the names of 2216 species belonging to 828 genera, and in addition 
391 varieties or unnamed species, comprising the results of a long period of 
work. Up to that time, it was impossible to obtain much definite informa- 
tion regarding the distribution or relative abundance of such Natal plants 
as had been described. 
As Medley Wood remarked in his preface, many collectors had been 
content to give the locality as simply Natal or to add the name of some 
river, such as Umzimkulu, Tugela, etc.; but as these rivers run their course 
from the Drakensberg to the sea, it was impossible to form any idea of the 
exact localities. The collections of Gerrard and Buchanan were all without 
any indication of habitat. Medley Wood set himself to remedy this and 
success attended his efforts. Gradually a large amount of exact information 
was accumulated and also the number of discovered species — many of them 
new to science — was rapidly increased. 
In 1907, he published a Handbook to the Flora of Natal, containing 
907 genera, 3447 species and 83 varieties with analytical keys to the genera. 
Still later, in his Revised list of the Flora of Natal, to which two separate 
Appendices were afterwards added, he still further increased the list and in 
addition gave much useful information regarding distribution. Medley Wood’s 
activity was not confined to the mere extending of the list of records and 
the discovery of new species. He enriched the Government Herbarium at 
Durban and other Herbaria all over the world by the exchange of specimens, 
and the large amount of work entailed he carried out practically single- 
handed. He further undertook the work of making the Flora of Natal 
better known to the people of Natal itself and to the outside world by the 
publication of his Natal Plants, which he continued issuing up to the time 
of his death. Six volumes appeared, each containing 100 species with every 
species beautifully illustrated. Vols. II and V almost exhaust the grasses 
of Natal. A list of the Ferns of Natal, and various Reports from the Durban 
Botanic Gardens, should also be included among his publications. 
It is difficult to estimate, in such a brief sketch as this, the value of 
Medley Wood’s life’s work. It was his privilege to work in a virgin field and 
he took advantage of the many opportunities and at the same time nobly 
overcame the still more numerous difficulties. For those of us who have to 
follow him, he has made the path much easier and has given us a firm 
foundation on which to build, and we gratefully acknowledge our indebtedness 
to him. 
J. W. BEWS. 
