Women & Botany

By Emily Hunter, Field Book Project

Acc. 90-105 - Science Service, Records, 1920s-1970s, Smithsonian Institution Archives. Left to right: Unidentified man, botanist and plant pathologist Johanna Westerdijk (1883-1961), and two other women (unidentified).

For women interested in science in the 19^th and early 20^th centuries, botany was the most accessible field to enter, but by no means was it easy. The waning Victorian period had placed an emphasis on women’s role at the center of the home, precluding most scientific pursuits. As an endeavor related to natural theology, however, the study of plants was viewed as an acceptable hobby for Victorian (and Christian) young women.

Botanical field work was also more open to women because, unlike in zoology, it could be conducted without handling weapons or killing animals (seen as a male domain). Views of the female sex may have limited chances for engaging in robust field work or traveling abroad, but women found opportunities to collect plants in their own backyards.

Many women pursued botany in this way. They started in-home herbariums, educated children on botany, and even joined professional associations.

As botany became more professionalized (about the mid 1800s) though, it became increasingly male-dominated. Because women were less likely to receive a formal education, they had a difficult time gaining professional employment and recognition.

While researching for this post, I was disappointed that I couldn’t find comprehensive (or sometimes any) biographical information for the women in our field book collections. Collecting under a male colleague or husband’s name may be to blame, or it may be that precious little is written about them. Still harder was finding images for many female botanists.

Here is what I did find. The Field Book Project is working to catalog the field notes of at least eight women botanists, including those highlighted below.

Josephine Milligan, collected circa 1889

Josephine M. Milligan’s Catalog of Plants, undated.

Josephine Mason Milligan collected throughout the United States, but particularly in her home state of Illinois. She kept a home herbarium of wildflowers of Central Illinois which she later donated to the Smithsonian Institution after her death in 1911. She was an active member of numerous professional societies, including the Jacksonville Natural History Society and the Microscopical Society. She was a founding member of the Jacksonville Sorosis, a society of women who studied and discussed literature, science, and contemporary issues.

M. Alice Cornman, collected circa 1917-1918

M. Alice Cornman’s work with ferns began with writing descriptions and copying data for botanist Ellsworth P. Killip. Eventually, this led to collecting plants herself in Panama and Guatemala. Modestly discussing her own work, Cornman writes, “…while my descriptions often lacked scientific terms, they were descriptive.”

Reading her (probably unpublished) essay, “Collecting Ferns in Panama,” I was taken by Cornman’s humble account of her own budding appreciation for plants. She begins,

“I want to tell you a little of how I became interested in ferns, scientifically, for of course I had always loved ferns just as ferns, but the little brown spots on the under side of the frons, you have probably noticed them, did not appeal to me, they seemed to detract from the beauty of the ferns.”

Approaching the plants at first with an aesthetic eye, Cornman learned through her assistance to Killip that the “little brown dots” were sori, with complex patterns and functions. Thus was the beginning of her fascination with botany.

Velva Elaine Rudd, collected circa 1949-1999

Velva E. Rudd served as a curator in the Department of Botany, U.S. National Herbarium from 1959 to 1973. A legume specialist, she researched and published extensively on various tropical species of Fabaceae. The Mexican legume genus Ruddia is named for her.

Field notes of Velva E. Rudd.

In addition to these, the Smithsonian also has the field notes of:

• Cleofe Calderon
• Mary Agnes Chase
• Alice Carter Cook
• Mrs. William Owen
• Nina Prey

While I don’t personally know a woman botanist, a few of my closest female friends are scientists. Through listening to their experiences, I have learned that it still requires great fortitude and determination to succeed in a male-dominated discipline. Here’s to women botanists and all women who have fought and continue to fight to do what they love and to contribute to the advancement of knowledge.

This post is part of a series celebrating Women’s History Month. Stay tuned for more, and check out related posts on women in science on The Bigger Picture.

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References:

Bassett, P. D. (1925). The Jacksonville Sorosis organized: Founded November 30th, 1868. Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society (1908-1984), 18(1), 209-212.

Bonta, M. M. (1995). American women afield: Writings by pioneering women naturalists. College Station: Texas A&M University.

Gianquitto, T. (2007). “Good observers of nature”: American women and the scientific study of the natural world, 1820-1885. Athens: University of Georgia Press.

Kohlstedt, S. G. (1978). From the Periphery: American Women in Science, 1830-1880. Signs, 4(1), 81-96.

Comments

[graypig1979]

Hello! I love nmnh.typepad.com and glad to be a part of the forums.

[Sara Alexander]

A broader look at herbarium employment numbers from Barbara Thiers, manager of the Index Herbariorum:

"Worldwide, there are about 11,000 staff members associated with herbaria (there are about 3000 herbaria worldwide). Of that 11,000, I can either tell definitively, or make a good guess, about the gender of 6824 people. Of those, 3960 ( 58%) are male, and 2863 (42%) are female.

In the US, there are 1279 staff members associated with herbaria -- I could verify the gender of almost all of those (1215). Of this number, 741 (61%) are male, and 473 (39%) are female."

[Emily Hunter]

Hi Sara, Thank you for your comment—it’s very interesting to see current employment numbers. I'm glad to know that women are (still) holding their own in the field of Botany!

[Sara Alexander]

To personally get to know a woman botanist, you only have to visit the Smithsonian Natural History Museum's Department of Botany. Three of the permanent curators / research botanists are women. When all botany staff are counted, there are 25 women and 31 men(this does include administrative, IT, and other positions as well as research and collections management). This number doesn't take into account the many contractors and visiting researchers who also conduct botany at the US Herbarium... of which I'm one!
(http://botany.si.edu/staff/index.cfm)

[London Removals]

Nowadays it is hard to believe and understand that once women had not the opportunity to follow their dreams professionally!