Patricia Berjak

Patricia Berjak (29 December 1939 – 21 January 2015) was a South African botanist known for her work on the biology of plant seeds, especially seed recalcitrance. She was professor for 48 years at the University of Kwazulu-Natal (UKZN).

She earned a B.Sc. degree in biochemistry at the University of the Witwatersrand (1962), then went on to the University of Natal (now UKZN), earning a M.Sc. in mammalian physiology and biochemistry (1966) and PhD in seed biology (1969). She was a member of the Academy of Science of South Africa, and a Fellow of the University of Natal, the Royal Society of South Africa and the Third World Academy of Sciences. She was awarded the Order of Mapungubwe (Silver) in 2006.