Lady Anne Brewis (26 March 1911 – 31 March 2002), was an English botanist. She was a daughter of Roundell Cecil Palmer, 3rd Earl of Selborne. As a child, Brewis had spent long holidays studying the orchids on Noar Hill, near

Selborne Selborne is a village in Hampshire, England, south of Alton, and just within the northern boundary of the South Downs National Park. The village receives visitors because of its links with the naturalist Revd. Gilbert White, a pioneer of birdw ...

. This led her to study the works of

Gilbert White Gilbert White FRS (18 July 1720 – 26 June 1793) was a " parson-naturalist", a pioneering English naturalist, ecologist, and ornithologist. He is best known for his ''Natural History and Antiquities of Selborne''. Life White was born on ...

, and eventually to a degree in

Zoology Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and ...

at Somerville College, Oxford. Her marriage to John Brewis took her to many localities before returning to Hampshire on her husband's retirement. Over the next 27 years, she meticulously catalogued hundreds of species, and co-authored the definitive guide to Hampshire's plant life. Every summer she would organise botanical safaris for local children.

Bibliography

*''The Flora of Hampshire'', Bowman P, Brewis A, Mabey R, Rose F. 1996. Harley Books. . (This 1996 book was preceded by the ''Flora of Hampshire'', 2nd edition, 1904 by

Frederick Townsend Frederick Townsend (September 21, 1825 – September 12, 1897) was a Union officer in the American Civil War. He founded and was Colonel of the 3rd New York Infantry Regiment, and later served with the US Army's 18th and 9th Infantry regiments, ...

.) *''Natural History of Selborne'', White G. 1789 (repr: 1977) Penguin London, Hampshire''(1996).

References

Women botanists English botanists 1911 births 2002 deaths Alumni of Somerville College, Oxford Daughters of British earls Members of the Order of the British Empire 20th-century British women scientists People from Selborne {{England-botanist-stub