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Patricia Berjak

South African botanist (1939-2015)

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Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionAug 30, 2026
Entity authorityQ23777458 ↗
Source-derived summary

Patricia Berjak (29 December 1939 – 21 January 2015) was a South African botanist known for her work on the biology of plant seeds, especially seed recalcitrance. She was professor for 48 years at the University of Kwazulu-Natal (UKZN).

She earned a B.Sc. degree in biochemistry at the University of the Witwatersrand (1962), then went on to the University of Natal (now UKZN), earning a M.Sc. in mammalian physiology and biochemistry (1966) and PhD in seed biology (1969). She was a member of the Academy of Science of South Africa, and a Fellow of the University of Natal, the Royal Society of South Africa and the Third World Academy of Sciences. She was awarded the Order of Mapungubwe (Silver) in 2006. The standard author abbreviation Berjak is used to indicate this person as the author when citing a botanical name.

References

Further reading

Sooryamoorthy, R. (2015). "Collaboration Experience: Portrait of an Eminent Scientist".

Editorial summary

This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Patricia Berjak” as south African botanist (1939-2015). Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.

Editorial reviewA dependable orientation record for establishing vocabulary, names and a first evidence trail. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1939, 2015, 1962, 1966—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1939-12-29. The account is most persuasive where Patricia, Berjak and South can be independently traced.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The subject matters to the general reference register because the source frames it as south African botanist (1939-2015). Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.

Evidence profile

Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 30, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q23777458. VIAF identifies the subject as 43105677. The Library of Congress control number is n79009711. 1 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1939, 2015, 1962 and 1966.

Critical limits

Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.

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  • Search vocabulary
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  2. Expand the search: follow Patricia Berjak primary sources, Patricia Berjak archive and Patricia research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Patricia Berjak” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.