Flora’s Fieldworkers: Women and Botany in Nineteenth-Century Canada

In the nineteenth century, Canadian women got their hands dirty in lots of botanical projects. Flora’s Fieldworkers, edited by Ann Shteir, fills some gaps in the history of these women’s work. The book grew out of a 2017 workshop, “Women, Men, and Plants in nineteenth-century Canada,” at York University in Toronto.

Some women in this volume collected plants. A few sent plant samples to William Jackson Hooker at Kew Gardens in England for his Flora Boreali–Americana and to other plant seekers. Several women established or participated in organizations promoting or educating about botany and horticulture. Others produced botanic or floral art – paintings, albums, quilts. Nearly all gardened.

Flora’s Fieldworkers describes these endeavors, often placing them in a context of pushing the boundaries of the roles socially prescribed for women. Gardening and floral art were women’s work. Everything else in botany required women skillfully to insert themselves into the male-dominated establishment.

Christian Ramsay (1786-1839), the Countess of Dalhousie, amassed great quantities of plant specimens in Canada (and India and Scotland). Some are still preserved in several herbaria. She sent samples to Hooker, which he used. Like almost all the women in this volume, Lady Dalhousie taught herself botany, and she became expert. Her collecting opportunities came as she followed her husband’s diplomatic career. In her case, as in others, the author reminds us that England’s empire-building hovered in the background.

Catherine Parr Traill (1802-1899) was the most famous woman in this collection, though much of her fame grew from her work as a children’s author and natural historian. Plants played a large role in such works as her The Backwoods of Canada, along with the birds and small animals. She combined careful and accurate plant descriptions with the context of her own sense of connection. If she could not find a new plant described in her small botanical library, she happily invented her own name for it.

Traill began collecting plants soon after her arrival in Canada from England in 1832, continuing for seven decades and writing detailed descriptions of each. With the help of her niece, Agnes Fitzgibbon, Traill published two volumes (both using standard nomenclature), Canadian Wild Flowers (in the Miller Library’s Tall Shelves) and Studies of Plant Life in Canada , in the rare book collection. Both titles are digitized and available online.

Ramsay, Fitzgibbon, and Traill join numerous others in this enlightening volume on early women botanists up north.

Reviewed by Priscilla Grundy in Leaflet for Scholars, Volume 10, Issue 7, July 2023

Sempervivum : A Gardener’s Perspective of the Not-So-Humble Hens-and-Chicks

Hens-and-chicks were one of the first garden plants I came to recognize in childhood. However, compared to the brightly colored tulips and glads I favored; I didn’t think much of them. I was amused by the offsets (the “chicks”) that formed easily around the central plant (the “hen”), but the leaves were typically a dull green and the plants only occasionally sent up undistinguished flowers.

At some point in my adult phase of gardening, I took another look. Hybrids now had leaves in amazing colors including deep reds, steely blues, lavenders deepening to purple, red/green bicolors, and, most recently, gold with reddish tips! Even more fascinating, these colors often change at different times of the year.

I was pleased to discover there is a recent guide to this jewel box of choices for gardeners. Sempervivum: A Gardener’s Perspective of the Not-So-Humble Hens-and-Chicks was written by Kevin Vaughn, an Oregon hybridizer, and published in 2018.

The author has a PhD in botany and provides a knowledgeable history of the genus Sempervivum and its taxonomic identities. However, he quickly makes clear his purpose: “I have written this book for gardeners.”

The book is also an homage to the collegial group of enthusiasts who have created and promoted the various hybrids. The core is a catalog of this work. While some can be found at local garden centers, a list of mail order sources is included in the appendix and most are found in our region.

From my interest in this genus, I came to discover several other succulent genera with enticing foliage, including Echeveria, Graptopetalum, and Aeonium. Sadly, all of these need to be treated as annuals or given winter protection in our climate. By comparison, “semps” (as Vaughn calls them) are perfectly hardy in the Pacific Northwest, only needing protection from soggy soils and aggressive plant neighbors.

The author concludes, “The uses of Sempervivum are nearly infinite. Every time I think I have seen every possible use, a new one shows its head.”

Reviewed by Brian Thompson in the Leaflet, Volume 10, Issue 7, July 2023

Julia: A Biography of Julia W. Henshaw

“Julia” is a graphic biography of Julia Henshaw (1869-1937), who published the first book on the wild flowers of the Canadian Rockies in 1906. This was a relatively small aspect of her colorful life and author/illustrator Michael Kluckner chose her later role as an ambulance driver in World War I for his book’s cover.

Henshaw had a passion for the mountains, seeded on a visit to Switzerland from her native England as a young woman. She met both Mary Schäffer Warren and Mary Vaux Walcott on a visit to the Rockies for her journalism work in 1898. Kluckner concludes this visit helped focus her interest in the native plants. It is certain she learned much about the flora from the two American women, as well as the techniques of photography which were used to illustrated her book, “Mountain Wild Flowers of Canada” published in 1906 (the Miller Library has the American edition, which is the same except for the title).

Biographers disagree on the possibility of plagiarism in Henshaw’s book. Letters from Warren much later in life expressed bitterness that her protégé published a year earlier than her own book on the wild flowers. Nonetheless, the two women stayed in contact, as both were founding members of the Alpine Club of Canada, and participated together in some of that organization’s functions. One can only hope that their love of plants helped to mellow their professional rivalry.

The author is very skilled at drawing facial expressions that bring out the emotions of his subject and her companions. The tension between Henshaw and Warren is far stronger as portrayed in this media than in the words I have read in other biographies. Other tactics used by Kluckner include interspersing newspaper clips and occasional photographs from the period. He even put himself in the action, seeking answers from the ghost of Henshaw when more conventional research materials failed.

In one of these exchanges between author and subject, the ghost of Henshaw explains, “It works like this – you rest in peace until someone begins to fiddle with your legacy. That wakes you up and you get a chance to respond. The problem is, some biographers don’t listen.”

Excerpted in part from Brian Thompson’s articles in the Winter 2022 and Summer 2023 issues of the Arboretum Bulletin

Darwin & Hooker: A story of friendship, curiosity and discovery that changed the world

Charles Darwin (1809-1882) and Joseph Dalton Hooker (1817-1911) were both major figures in 19^th century British biology. Darwin is famous for his work on evolution, and Hooker was an important plant explorer and director of Kew Gardens, following his father William Jackson Hooker in that position.

Less is known about the close friendship between the two men and the important support they gave to each other’s research. That story is told in “Darwin & Hooker: A story of friendship, curiosity and discovery that changed the world”, a delightfully illustrated book by Alexandra Stewart and Joe Todd-Stanton. While marketed as a children’s book, I would easily recommend this to anyone interested in a biography of these two men.

“Both men found their time together useful, stimulating and hugely enjoyable. They learnt a great deal from one another and enjoyed gossiping and teasing each other.” This quote is from a page showing Darwin and Hooker playing in a field with some of their children.

Elsewhere, the illustrations are especially effective at demonstrating scientific concepts that would be challenging if only presented in text. This is especially true in differentiating the 13 species of finches on the Galápagos Islands that all descended from one species found on the South America mainland. These species primarily differ by the size and shape of their beaks. The study of these birds helped Darwin develop the theory of evolution by natural selection.

Excerpted from Brian Thompson’s article in the Summer 2023 issue of the Arboretum Bulletin

Arboretum

“Arboretum” is a new book this spring in the “Welcome to the Museum” series from Big Picture Press. The Miller Library has three titles in this series, all illustrated by Katie Scott, collaborating with different text authors.

These books are huge! Fifteen inches tall by eleven inches wide and are wonderful for reading both silently and aloud to others. Tony Kirkham, former Head of Arboretum, Gardens & Horticulture Services of the Royal Botanic Garden, Kew, wrote the text and his wonderment for the vast varieties of trees (over 58,000 species) is very clear.

“At this time of unprecedented change for our planet, it could not be more important to learn how to live alongside these giants. We cannot protect the natural world until we understand it.” To help with this understanding, Kirkham’s descriptions typically fill the left page, while Scott’s illustrations fill the right.

This book is about the global arboretum, including tropical species from both moist and dry forests that sadly wouldn’t survive in the Washington Park Arboretum. But our native trees are represented in a two-page spread featuring the Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii), including a drawing of “Big Lonely Doug”, a 230-foot-tall survivor of clear-cutting on Vancouver Island. Scott shows the misshaped branches and the enormous (12 feet in diameter), limbless trunk with close-ups of the cones, needles, and even a cross-section of the trunk.

Excerpted from Brian Thompson’s article in the Summer 2023 issue of the Arboretum Bulletin

Mycelium Wassonii

The most distinctive of the graphic nonfiction books in the Miller Library collection is “Mycelium Wassonii” by Brian Blomerth. It is a biography of R. Gordon Wasson (1898-1986) and Valentina Pavlovna “Tina” Wasson (1901-1958). Their careers were in banking and pediatrics, respectively, however they are best known for the passionate interest in the significance of mushrooms to different cultures around the world and as pioneers in the study of ethnomycology.

The central story of the book describes the Wasson’s visits to the indigenous Mazatec people of the state of Oaxaca in Mexico to learn about their use of psilocybin mushrooms in sacred ceremonies. Despite making a promise of secrecy, Gordon later allowed the location and identity of those who invited them into their rites to be known. This led to exploitation and considerable disruption of this small community and the ostracizing of their principal contact.

I had trouble getting started with this book, especially as most of the people are drawn with animalistic facial features. However, I soon became engaged and it read much like any other biography, albeit with an unfamiliar artistic expression. Given the subject of “magic” mushrooms, it seemed very appropriate!

Excerpted from Brian Thompson’s article in the Summer 2023 issue of the Arboretum Bulletin

Humongous Fungus: The Weird and Wonderful Kingdom of Fungi

All members of the plant kingdom are supported by members of the kingdom of fungi. To learn more about these sometimes very different lifeforms, read “Humongous Fungus,” illustrated by Wenjia Tang and written by Lynne Boddy.

The illustrator and author’s style uses the text in bursts of one or two sentences, with more numerous illustrations. This approach is effective, conveying a lot of information with very few words. Fungi are essential to plant life, and to animal life, but they can also be killers of both. The benefits and problems are well demonstrated.

For example, a two-page spread on plant partners shows trees and fungi roots co-mingled. “Each tree has a lot of fungus partners in the soil. They can be the same or different species. The mycelium can connect between roots on the same tree and on different trees.” If you turn to the next page, you find examples of fungi plant killers: “some kill their roots or leaves, or even the whole plant. They can kill garden flowers, food crops, and even tall trees.”

Winner of the 2023 Award of Excellence for Literature for Young Adults from the Council on Botanical and Horticultural Libraries

Excerpted from Brian Thompson’s article in the Summer 2023 issue of the Arboretum Bulletin

When Plants took over the Planet

What do you know about plant evolution? My hazy memories from introductory college biology center on the development of animals, while plants got short shrift. For an easy and entertaining way to fill this gap, I found “When Plants Took over the Planet” an excellent solution. Illustrator Amy Grimes and text author Chris Thorogood start with very small algae, then show how these evolved into a group of plants that includes the seaweeds, such as the giant kelp (Macrocystits pyrifera) that can grow 24 inches in a single day.

These water-based plants further evolved into land dwellers, including the lycopods, the earliest vascular plants that could grow to 100 feet tall. By contrast, the only survivors today of this group are tiny. These were followed by ferns and horsetails. Of the latter, the author writes, “Some horsetails grew to a colossal 100 feet tall. Can you imagine wandering among fat pole-like trunks of giant horsetails?” Can you imagine these plants as weeds in your garden?

The book concludes with the conifers and the wide array of flowering plants. Significant groups are colorfully illustrated, often with their typical animal associates. Thorogood summarizes the reader’s journey: “We’ve trekked through fossil forests, swum across prehistoric lakes, and climbed trees. Now we arrive on today’s green planet – a place that still teems with plant life, as it has done for millions of years.”

Excerpted from Brian Thompson’s article in the Summer 2023 issue of the Arboretum Bulletin

The Miracle Seed

Martin Lemelman is the author/illustrator of “The Miracle Seed” and uses a style similar to comic books to tell his story. The Judean date palm, a cultivar of Phoenix dactylifera, was an important tree for its sweet fruit, medicinal properties, and cultural significance to the Jewish people. Following the bloody put-down of Jewish revolt between 66-74 CE, many of the groves were destroyed by the Romans. In the centuries that followed, a combination of factors led to the tree’s extinction.

In 1963, archaeological excavations in last, first-century Jewish holdout at Masada found a jar with six seeds of the Judean date palms. “The Miracle Seed” tells the story of the two women scientists who very carefully coaxed some of these seeds to germinate 2,000 years after they were harvested.

The first planting was on Tu B’Shvat, the Jewish New Year of Trees in 2005. It wasn’t until six years later that one successful seedling was large enough to flower, revealing it was a male plant of this dioecious species. In the meantime, a few other seeds were found at other archaeological sites.

From these seeds, the first female Judea date palm flowered in 2020. Later that year, with pollen from the original plant (appropriately named “Methuselah”), the first fruit in two millennia was harvested and an extinct plant was brought back to life!

Excerpted from Brian Thompson’s article in the Summer 2023 issue of the Arboretum Bulletin

Herbaria: A Guide for Young People

“Herbaria: A Guide for Young People” is a delight. Written and illustrated by Kelly LaFarge, this book blends a mix of drawings and photographs along with lift-up flaps and fold out pages to introduce these critical institutions to an audience that appreciates an interactive experience.

In just 32 pages, the author guides the reader through the intricacies of collecting and preserving plants while explaining the value of such collections. The scope is global, both for places of plant collection, and the location of significant herbarium collections.

Even though I’m familiar with the Otis Douglas Hyde Herbarium next door to the Miller Library, I learned many new facts. For example, while familiar with herbarium sheets that are 16.5 x 11.5 inches, I didn’t know that “all herbaria around the world use the exact same size paper. This makes it easy to trade and store exchanged specimens.”

Excerpted from Brian Thompson’s article in the Summer 2023 issue of the Arboretum Bulletin