A preliminary list of Khoekhoe (Nama/ Damara) plant names

The following plant names have been extracted from the Nama Dictionary, which is presently being compiled by W. Haacke and E. Eiseb at the University of Namibia. The project commenced in 1981 and has been completed approximately 80%. W. Giess has been so kind as to identify most of the botanical samples that have been collected, with the exception of a few that were identified by M.A.N. Muller of the State Herbarium. The compilers express their gratitude to these botanists for their authoritative assistance. The present list is confined to those names that could, up to this stage, be established with a reasonable degree of authority. Unless marked otherwise, only such Khoekhoe names have been included as were obtained by the compilers first hand from informants or from E. Eiseb himself. Other names are confined .to those identified beyond doubt by W Giess in his personal inventory (labelled ?, Giess), by H.-J. Wiss (labelled ?, B.M.), by PJ. Ie . Roux, or - in one case - by Leonard Schulze (d. References below). Such entries could, of course, not be marked for tone. English plant names follow mainly F. &J. von Breitenbach (1987) and P.J. le Roux (1971). In cases where a plant is decidedly better known by its Afrikaans name, rather than by its English name, the Afrikaans name has been included as well.