In South Africa, the scientific society that is the custodian of the field of Botany and fundamental Plant Sciences is the South African Association of Botanists (SAAB). Annual Conferences have been the norm, not unexpected with South Africa’s botanical diversity (23,514 taxa and counting). In 2025, the Wits Rural Facility near the Kruger National Park was the venue for the 50^th Conference celebrations with the theme “Biodiversity in a Changing World”. 

The South African Journal of Botany has published a special issue “The status of botanical science in South Africa – a series of review and research papers to commemorate the 50^th Annual Conference of the South African Association of Botany” which includes an entertaining history of SAAB and SAJB. Prof. Dave Richardson, Director of the Centre for Invasion Biology, Stellenbosch University, was awarded the SAAB Gold Medal at the Conference.

Conference sessions covered Ecology, Evolution and Systematics, Pollination Biology, Plant Physiology, Invasion Biology, Natural Resource Management and Conservation, Biotechnology and Medicinal Plants. A small delegation from the University of Pretoria attended. Prof. Dave Berger spoke on “Molecular systematics of the endemic tree genus Greyia – novel DNA barcodes”. Jana Botes, a MSc student in the MPPI research group, won the “Best Young Botanist Award” for her presentation “Determining the molecular basis of the rare white-flowering Greyia sutherlandii phenotype”.