Hansiesberg

Ancient Gk. Ixia = a Linnaeus-derived name for a plant noted for the variability of its flower colour or Gk. ixos = mistletoe (viscum), birdlime; referring to the viscous sap (WPU Jackson).

An Indian name – kumari or kumara – for Aloe vera. Some sources state a Polynesian name kumara for sweet potato.

For Georg Christian Edler von Oldenburg Oeder (1728–1791), German botanist, physician and economist. He studied medicine at the University of Göttingen under Albrecht von Haller who, in 1751, persuaded King Frederick V of Denmark to appoint Oeder as professor botanices regius (royal professor). He developed a botanical garden and in 1753 he became the founding author of Flora Danica, a massive work initially designed to cover all plant species in the crown lands of the Danish King, which was only completed 153 years later. Oeder served on many commissions and was involved in agrarian and social reforms. In 1771 Oeder lost his professorship as a result of a financial crisis in Denmark and was given a lesser post as a bailiff in Oldenberg, then under Danish rule. Two years before his death he was ennobled by Joseph 11, Holy Roman Emperor of the Hapsburg lands (present-day Austria).

Gk. After Proteus, a mythological sea-god, who could change his form at will, taking new shapes. Seemingly Linnaeus was so over-awed by the variety of plants sent to him from the Cape that he named the genus Protea. The authors could not confirm this.