Conrad (or Konrad) Beyrich was a German engineer and traveller. In 1886 he arrived in Cape Town and travelled via Natal and Zululand to the Transvaal. For some time he lived on the gold fields near Barberton, but also travelled to Matabeleland (in present Zimbabwe) and visited the king of Swaziland.

In January 1888 he joined F. E. T. Bachmann* in an exploration of Pondoland (the northern and central coastal regions of the Transkei, between the Mtamvuna and Mtata Rivers). At that time they were both representatives of the Berlinische Pondo Gesellschaft. Starting from Marburg Mission they visited, among others, present Lusikisiki, Port St Johns, Port Grosvenor, and Msikaba. Beyrich collected about 6000 bryophytes (mosses, liverworts and hornworts), which are in the Botanisches Museum in Berlin. He and Bachmann were furthermore the first travellers definitely known to have collected land snails in the Transkei.

Beyrich returned to Germany via Cape Town in 1890.

List of sources:

Beyrich, Conrad. JSTOR Global Plants. Retrieved on 16 August 2023 from https://plants.jstor.org/stable/10.5555/al.ap.person.bm000041767

Gunn, L.E. & Codd, M. Botanical exploration of southern Africa. Cape Town: Balkema, 1981.

Herbert, D. & Kilburn, D. Field guide to the land snails and slugs of eastern South Africa. Pietermaritzburg: Natal Museum, 2004.

Konrad Beyrich. Wikipedia. Retrieved on 16 August 2023 from https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Konrad_Beyrich and https://www.wikiwand.com/de/Konrad_Beyrich

Compiled by: C. Plug

Last updated: 2023-08-16 12:28:17