Factual information about BB
Haworthiad v.11.4 (1997) p.104

I was born in Kwazulu (Natal) RSA in 1935 while my father was a magistrate in Namibia. My father was one of three brothers who were all very interested in plants. One brother was professor of Botany at the University of Natal. My own field activities date back to 1939 when the first plant I collected was Tridentea jucunda. I studied Agriculture at Pietermaritzburg between 1952 and 1956, majoring in Entomology, and then worked at the College of Agriculture at Cedara from 1957 to 1964. I completed my MSc with Noctuid moths as the study field. In 1965 I joined a commercial company as Technical Products Officer and from there went to Veterinary Products for 18 months. But my real interest was always plants and I fell into a post at the Karoo Garden rendered vacant by the untimely death of Roy Littlewood. I had been in touch with him for several years about Haworthia. I was considered unqualified and worked as a Botanical Assistant until the absence of any candidates of any kind to replace the retiring Curator (Frank Stayner), led to my default appointment as such in 1973. I left there in 1987 when my independent and rebellious spirit (I was still considered unqualified) could no longer stand an unwholesome logic and principle in the workplace. It was an ambience which I could not reconcile with the enjoyment of plants and purpose which had brought me there. I did not mind being underpaid while I was enjoying my job. I went back to the role of scientist in the Dept. of Agriculture where I worked as a research ecologist until 1992. The influence of the older second uncle was too strong. He was a nonconformist and rebel against bureaucracy and authoritarianism. So I retired early to follow my own private quest for a holy grail for which I am still looking. Actually too much time at a computer terminal burned the hole in my head a lot bigger, but nobody believes to this day that I am sensitive to computer screen emissions. I think my acquaintances must think me strange anyway. While I was at Cedara I corresponded with a farmer from the Northern Transvaal, Mr. Bill Riley, who was an avid Haworthia fanatic. He intimated that he thought we should do a revision of Haworthia, but like others, I don’t think he had much idea what it required in terms of time and trouble. I had been on a long trip in 1962 to northern Natal and to Swaziland to look forHaworthia limifolia, and that taught me a lot about looking for things which you cannot see from the window of a car.

My work at the Karoo Garden was initially the curation of the collections and I spent my three years working on haworthias and asclepiads. After that it was a mixed bag and I was lucky to have Pauline Perry working with me who became an authority on Eriospermum, Bulbinella and other geophytes. There was a lot of contact with a host of collectors, botanists and scientists such as Kare Bremer, Ulrich Meve, Heidi Hartmann, Peter Bruyns, Laurie Malherbe, Lloyd Schwegmann, Anthony Mitchell, Steven Hammer, Col. C. L. Scott, Masahiko Hayashi, Walter Wisura, Harry Hall, Ernst van Jaarsveld, Pauline Perry, Doreen Court, Gideon Smith, Jan Vlok, Ian Walters, David Cutler, Peter Brandham, Sherman Carlquist, Larry Leach, Del Wiens, Dr. R. A. Dyer, Dr. L. E. Codd, Prof. Cronquist and of course the botanists of the National Botanic Gardens itself. I was also lucky to meet many of the old guard like George Payne, Miss G. Blackbeard, Gordon King, P. Meiring, Mrs. Grant, Japie Dekenah, Dr. Courtenay-Latimer, A. J. Joubert, W. E. Armstrong and of course Frank Stayner. I spent particular time on groups like Aloe, Crassula, Euphorbia, Tylecodon, Aspara gus, mesembs generally, asclepiads generally and Oxalis. The Bayer name actually was quite famous for a little while in names such as Protasparagus bayeri, Tylecodon bayeri, Anacampseros bayeriana, Huernia bayeri, Quaqua something var. bayeri, Euphorbia bayeri, Eriospermum bayeri, Gasteria brachyphylla var. bayeri, Namaquanuella bruce-bayeri, plus at least two other as yet undescribed species. It is also associated with the descriptions of Protasparagus exsertus, Protasparagus mollis, Protasparagus graniticus, Brachystelma minima, Euphorbia mira, Otholobium incanum, Kedostris ammophila, Senecio latissipes, several Haworthia species and a whole host of Oxalis species.

While I last revised the Handbook in 1976, I never relinquished my interest in Haworthia. I just fell to silent contemplation and introverted enjoyment of these extraordinary plants. The stimulus to update the Handbook owes most to a request for a synopsis of the genus for Dr. Peter Goldblatt’s and Dr. John Manning’s revision of the book ‘Plants of the Cape Flora’; and to the enduring trust and faith of J. D. (Kobus) Venter who has shared my interest in Haworthia since 1985. How do I want to be seen and remembered? As an objective, truthful observer who discovered what the true mission of human existence really is, and who lived his life accordingly. Fat chance!