G.F. Smith’s scientific contributions

... These regions, including parts of South Africa's southern, western and northern Cape coastal regions, typically have mild, wet winters and hot, dry summers, a perfect climate for growing a wide range of plants. Some of the most spectacular private (Les Cedres; Smith, 1997) and institutional (Smith & Van Wyk, 1999) gardens in the world have been created in Mediterranean regions, and along with their establishment came the desire to introduce and grow plants from other parts of the world. Not surprisingly, therefore, these and adjacent mild-climate, regions have been subject to numerous exotic species escaping into the adjoining natural vegetation, and several of these have become problem plants (see for example Smith & Mössmer, 1996;Smith & Klopper, 2007;Smith & Figueiredo, 2007;Smith et al., 2008). ...

Reference:

Agave Americana L. (subsp. americana) var. expansa (Jacobi) Gentry (Agavaceae) naturalized in South Africa