Mqanduli PhD student puts ancient plants in science spotlight

Aviwe Matiwane will be the first in her family to achieve a doctorate.

While this is a source of pride, it is not what drives the 33-year-old Rhodes University PhD student from the tiny village of Lower Ngqwara in Mqanduli.

She loves what she does, and appreciates what it means to be a black woman scientist in the specialised and unusual field of paleobotany.

“Representation matters. I do not look like the typical scientist that is portrayed on the internet.”

While working at the Albany Museum in Makhanda, Matiwane is finalising her doctoral thesis on Glossopterid Permian florae.

She is researching plant fossils that provide a glimpse into what our world looked like almost 300m years ago.

Matiwane is working on Glossopteris — an extinct gymnosperm from the Permian period which spanned 252-299m years ago.

“These fossil plants were found across Gondwana, a supercontinent which consisted of landmasses that we know as Africa, Antarctica, Australia, India, and SA.

“Glossopteris formed in our oldest coal deposits.”

By finding the best descriptive features to confidently identify these plants, Matiwane will contribute to establishing a standardised methodology for the leaf taxonomy of this group.

“I am developing a national and international online leaf description database which will be used by researchers across the world.

“This will contribute towards the greater goal of establishing a reliable biostratigraphic framework for Glossopteris floras of the Permian of the Karoo Basin.”

Her study sites include the Ouberg Pass near Sutherland.

Once she completes her doctorate, Matiwane will be the third palaeobotanist in SA.

Her supervisor, Dr Rose Prevec, and Dr Marion Bramford are the others.

Matiwane has received three conference awards for her research, was one of the top 10 national FameLab finalists in 2016, and in 2019 was named one of Mail and Guardian’s Top 200 Young South Africans.