Description
Sparked by Samara’s curiosity about the medicinal plants growing across its reserve, the project set out to explore, document, and preserve traditional plant knowledge. This booklet is the outcome of a special collaboration between Samara Karoo Reserve, Pokkie Benadie, Roxanne Joubert, and Branden Hair.
Pokkie Benadie, who grew up in the Karoo and carries the heritage of his Khoisan Bushman mother and Griqua father, has worked at Samara for many years. He brought his deep understanding of the land and shared his stories of the healing plants.
To help document and preserve Pokkie’s valuable wisdom, herbalist Roxanne and plant enthusiast Branden spent two weeks in May 2025 walking alongside Pokkie through Samara’s five diverse biomes. Guided by Pokkie, and through shared curiosity and discovery, the team recorded 128 medicinal plant species.
Samara Karoo Reserve is a conservation success story set on 67,000 acres of restored wilderness in South Africa’s breathtaking Great Karoo region. Encompassing five vegetation biomes across strikingly varied landscapes, it is home to over 60 mammal species, including the Big Five and cheetah, as well as 225 bird species.
The Authors:
Roxanne Joubert (Lady of the Herbs) is an accredited herbalist dedicated to SA’s indigenous medicinal plants and the soul behind Lady of the Herbs. She focuses on conservation, research, education, sustainable resource development and product production in her field.
Branden Hair is an Adventure Guide with a huge passion for indigenous plants, their protection and knowledge sharing. His time in the field allowed him to hone his plant identification, and he always aspired to publish plant guidebooks.
***Pokkie gets a percentage of every book that gets sold***