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In South African higher education institutions, the student protests of 2015-2016 called for the decolonisation of higher education spaces and equal access to these spaces. We collected data from students and lecturers over the period of one year in order to better understand the reactions of students and lecturers and the effects the protests had on their experiences. Perspectives of affective theory, decolonisation and social justice were used. It was discovered that the protests had a great affective impact on participants. Strong emotions and beliefs affected the relationships between students and lecturers and African centrality was suggested as a framework for curriculum change. Some settler perspectives emerged and polarisation was evident. It is our hope that lecturers could use this research to assist them in decolonising their spaces of teaching and learning.

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Background: Cyclopia is endemic to regions of the Cape Floristic Region across the Eastern and Western Cape provinces of South Africa and is commonly known as honeybush. Honeybush has historically been used as an herbal tea, and has proven medicinal properties. Honeybush biomass and extracts are used in the functional foods and cosmetics sectors, both locally and overseas. The growing demand for honeybush calls for increased agricultural production and a shift away from the predominantly wild harvested supply.Objectives: The current study aimed to address the lack of baseline knowledge on honeybush phenology and its associated arthropod community to advance sustainable production of commercially valued plants in the genus.Method: The study was conducted on wild and cultivated Cyclopia species (Cyclopia maculata and Cyclopia genistoides) at respective sites in the Overberg region. Sampling took place from April 2014 to April 2015 using qualitative methods for recording seasonal honeybush phenology and suction sampling for aboveground arthropods. Focal insect taxa (Coleoptera, Hemiptera, Thysanoptera, Lepidoptera and Hymenoptera) were sorted and identified to family level and classified into functional feeding guilds.Results: Qualitative phenology observations of wild C. maculata and cultivated C. genistoides indicated a high level of congruency in seasonality of phenophase stages. Associated arthropod assemblages contained a diversity of families per functional feeding group, namely phytophagous, zoophagous and omnivorous taxa, with high seasonal variability.Conclusion: Findings highlight the complexity of ecological elements to be taken into consideration for ecologically sound honeybush cultivation. Outcomes can be applied to land management practices and governance policies promoting sustainable agroecosystems in honeybush production areas.

Aspalathus linearis (Burm. F.) R. Dahlgren (Fabaceae) or rooibos, is a strict endemic species, limited to areas of the Cederberg (Western Cape) and the southern Bokkeveld plateau (Northern Cape) in the greater Cape Floristic Region (CFR) of South Africa. Wild rooibos, unlike the cultivated type, is variable in morphology, biochemistry, ecology and genetics, and these ecotypes are broadly distinguished into two main groups, namely, reseeders and resprouters, based on their fire-survival strategy. No previous assessment of genetic diversity or population structure using microsatellite markers has been conducted in A. linearis. This study aimed to test the hypothesis that wild rooibos ecotypes are distinct in genetic variability and that the ecotypes found in the Northern Cape are differentiated from those in the Cederberg that may be linked to a fire-survival strategy as well as distinct morphological and phytochemical differences. A phylogeographical and population genetic analyses of both chloroplast (trnLF intergenic region) and newly developed species-specific nuclear markers (microsatellites) was performed on six geographically representative wild rooibos populations. From the diversity indices, it was evident that the wild rooibos populations have low-to-moderate genetic diversity (He: 0.618–0.723; Ho: 0.528–0.704). The Jamaka population (Cederberg, Western Cape) had the lowest haplotype diversity (H = 0.286), and the lowest nucleotide diversity (π = 0.006) even though the data revealed large variations in haplotype diversity (h = 0.286–0.900) and nucleotide diversity (π = 0.006–0.025) between populations and amongst regions where wild rooibos populations are found. Our data suggests that populations of rooibos become less diverse from the Melkkraal population (Suid Bokkeveld, Northern Cape) down towards the Cederberg (Western Cape) populations, possibly indicative of clinal variation. The largest genetic differentiation was between Heuningvlei (Cederberg, Western Cape) and Jamaka (FST = 0.101) localities within the Cederberg mountainous region, and, Blomfontein (Northern Cape) and Jamaka (Cederberg) (FST = 0.101). There was also a significant isolation by distance (R2 = 0.296, p = 0.044). The presence of three main clusters is also clearly reflected in the discriminant analysis of principal components (DAPC) based on the microsatellite marker analyses. The correct and appropriate management of wild genetic resources of the species is urgently needed, considering that the wild Cederberg populations are genetically distinct from the wild Northern Cape plants and are delineated in accordance with ecological functional traits of reseeding or resprouting, respectively. The haplotype divergence of the ecotypes has also provided insights into the genetic history of these populations and highlighted the need for the establishment of appropriate conservation strategies for the protection of wild ecotypes.