Genus Rabiea
Pictures from Observations
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Probably for William (Bill) Abbot Rabie (1869–1936), South African farmer and plant collector. His family farm, Groenkloof, was just outside Fauresmith, the second-oldest town in southern Free State. He was the second of four brothers who all went to Grey College in Bloemfontein, the third-oldest school in South Africa. After leaving school, he worked on the farm for 30 years. In 1899, the South African War broke out, and after joining the republican forces, Rabie was taken captive and sent to the Amritsar camp for prisoners of war in Punjab State, India, close to Lahore. After the war in 1902, he took up farming again at the family farm. He had to rebuild the house and lived there until his death in 1936. He served on numerous committees and was a popular public speaker in the local community, serving as an active deacon in the church. As a farmer, he must have had an interest in nature, and it is known that other members of his family did. In 1926, the plant Salsola rabieana (Amaranthaceae) was named after him, and later, in 1930, the genus Rabiea was also named after him.