Gideon F. Smith, South Africa's most prolific author on succulent plants, has authored and co-authored numerous scientific papers, as well as popular works such as First Field Guide to Aloes (2003), Gardening with Succulents (2005), Cacti and Succulents (2006) and Aloes in Southern Africa (2007). He is Chief Director for Biosystematics Research and Biodiversity Collections at the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) and Professor of Plant Science at the University of Pretoria. Neil R. Crouch heads the Ethnibotany Unit at the South African National Biodiversity Institute, focusing primarily on medicinal plants and their potential in drug development. His study of useful indigenous species has fostered his interest in the succulent flora of southern Africa. He has written many scientific papers, as well as the market handbook Medicinal Plants Traded on South Africa's Eastern Seaboard (2003). He is an Honorary Professor in the School of Chemistry at the University of KwaZulu-Natal.