Gideon F. Smith has authored many papers and books about succulent plants in southern Africa. An Honorary Professor at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, Port Elizabeth, he is a research associate at the University of Coimbra in Portugal. Neil R. Crouch works in the biodiversity economy field, promoting the sustainable use and commercialisation of indigenous South African plants. He has written widely on the subject of ethnobotany, succulents and ferns. He is an Honorary Professor in the School of Chemistry and Physics at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. Estrela Figueiredo has a keen interest in succulent plants, the African flora and sustainable gardening, on which she has authored many books and papers. She is a research associate at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, Port Elizabeth, and at the University of Coimbra in Portugal.