Paul Andries van der Bijl

Paul Andries van der Bijl (23 May 1888 – 1939) was a South African mycologist known for his work on polypores or bracket fungi. Born on his father's farm in the Paarl district of South Africa, he graduated from the University of Stellenbosch (formerly Victoria College) in 1909. In 1911 van der Bijl was appointed mycologist and phytopathologist at the South African National Collection of Fungi. In 1914 he was proposed as a member of the Linnean Society of London. In 1915 he headed the newly established phytopathological laboratory at the National Herbarium. He became the first professor of plant pathology in South Africa at the University of Stellenbosch in 1921. Stefanus Johannes Du Plessis (1908–1995) was a student of his. His surname is alternatively spelled "Van der Byl".