Alice Pegler was born in Keiskammahoek, a rural town in South Africa in 1861. As she grew up to attend the Dominican Convent, she became interested in pursuing teaching and went on to train to be an educator. However, after suffering many health problems related to her eyesight, she chose to leave behind teaching and her smaller hometown to settle in Kentani where she also began to raise and teach her nieces. As she formed her new life in the new environment, she became interested in surrounding flora and fauna, after which she began a large collection of plants she had collected from areas around her village. She began catching the eyes of other botanists such as Slemar Schonand who became interested to read her notes. Her first publication consisted mainly of her observations and notes, published in 1918. She continued to diversify her learnings towards other organisms as well such as spiders and beetles. In 1903, she began travelling to further areas to collect and analyze more unique organisms. However, her health declined limited her travel and forced her interest in fungi and algae. She continued collecting fungi within the Kentani district, of which her results were published in 1918. Though she could not work towards her ultimate goals due to her early passing, her specimens were generously donated to the South African National Botanical Institute and she was honoured with a membership of the Linnaean society, as well as a species being named Aloe peglerae.
Applied Plant Ecology Winter 2020 