Elsa Pooley is a self taught botanical artist who spent 20 years in the game reserves of Maputaland where she explored the flora of the region. She has pursued her passion for indigenous plants through collecting, researching, writing, painting and gardening with them. She has exhibited extensively in South Africa and has had work commissioned and sold in South Africa and abroad. She collaborated with Malcolm Christian of Caversham Press on hand-made prints for the Standard Bank Exhibition 'Science meets Fine Art - Flowers as Images' (1992). Her paintings have been published in the National Botanical Institute series 'FloweringPlants of Africa' and her limited edition portfolio 'Palms of Africa' (1988) has been sold worldwide.

She has illustrated a number of books including 777 trees, flowers, grasses, ferns and fungi for 'The Wildlife of Southern Africa. A field guide to the animals and plants of the region' (Southern Books, 1997), also available as the specialist 'Green Guides'. Elsa has written two authoritative field guides to 'Trees of Natal, Zululand & Transkei' and 'Wild Flowers of KwaZulu-Natal & the Eastern Region' (illustrated with photographs) which have become standard reference works.

She lives on the KwaZulu-Natal south coast where she paints and is also working on another book, 'Mountain Flowers, a field guide to the flora of the Drakensberg and Lesotho'. She takes wild flower and tree tours of the KwaZulu-Natal flora.