Elinor Frances Vallentin (formerly Nichol; (née Bertrand) (1873, Falkland Islands – 1924, Plympton, Devon) was a British

botanist Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...

and

botanical illustrator Botanical illustration is the art of depicting the form, color, and details of plant species, frequently in watercolor paintings. They must be scientifically accurate but often also have an artistic component and may be printed with a botanical ...

who made scientifically significant collections of botany specimens in the

Falkland Islands The Falkland Islands (; es, Islas Malvinas, link=no ) is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and about from Cape Dubouzet ...

. She co-authored the book ''Illustrations of the flowering plants and ferns of the Falkland Islands'' in 1921 with

Enid Mary Cotton Enid Mary Cotton (née Jesson) (1 May 1889 Malvern, Victoria – 19 April 1956 Farnham Common) was an Australian-born English botanist who married Arthur Disbrowe Cotton in 1913/1915, raising a son and daughter. She was the daughter of a mining en ...

, a fellow botanist. This work was regarded as being particularly valuable because of Vallentin's botanical illustrations.

Plant collecting

Vallentin grew up at Roy Cove and at Shallow Bay in

West Falkland West Falkland ( es, Isla Gran Malvina) is the second largest of the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic. It is a hilly island, separated from East Falkland by the Falkland Sound. Its area is , 37% of the total area of the islands. Its coastli ...

. While living there she collected and studied the plant life in the surrounding area. From November 1909 to March 1911 she collected numerous specimens from various sites on West Falkland, which are now held at the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. An internationally important botanical research and education institution, it employs 1,100 ...

and the

Manchester Museum Manchester Museum is a museum displaying works of archaeology, anthropology and natural history and is owned by the University of Manchester, in England. Sited on Oxford Road ( A34) at the heart of the university's group of neo-Gothic buildings, ...

. She also assembled collections of seaweeds that were particularly valuable scientifically. She collaborated with

Arthur Disbrowe Cotton Arthur Disbrowe Cotton, OBE (15 January 1879 – 27 December 1962) was an English plant pathologist, mycologist, phycologist, and botanist. A.D. Cotton was born in London and educated at King's College School and the Royal College of ...

, supplying him with specimens, and enabling him to undertake the first comprehensive study of

Cryptogams A cryptogam (scientific name Cryptogamae) is a plant (in the wide sense of the word) or a plant-like organism that reproduces by spores, without flowers or seeds. The name ''Cryptogamae'' () means "hidden reproduction", referring to the fact ...

from the Falkland Islands. Vallentin also collaborated with botanist

Charles Henry Wright Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*k ...

collecting plants for him, supplying him with field notes and illustrations, as well as illustrating his scientific paper ''The Mosses and Hepaticae of West Falkland Islands, from the collections of Mrs. Elinor Vallentin'' published in the

Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society The ''Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society'' is a scientific journal publishing original papers relating to the taxonomy of all plant groups and fungi, including anatomy, biosystematics, cytology, ecology, ethnobotany, electron microscopy, mo ...

. In 1912 Vallentin presented her collection of some 930 plant specimens, collected in the West Falkland Islands, to Kew.

Illustrations

As well as illustrating scientific papers, Vallentin co-wrote and illustrated the book ''Illustrations of the flowering plants and ferns of the Falkland Islands''.

Cecil Victor Boley Marquand Cecil Victor Boley Marquand (1897–1943) was a prominent English botanist. Cecil Marquand was born at Richmond, Surrey, on 7 June 1897. He was the only son of Ernest David Marquand, the author of a ''Flora of Guernsey''. Educated at Elizabeth ...

regarded Vallentin's drawings as being "beautiful". Vallentin also exhibited her illustrations at the 73rd Exhibition of the Royal Cornwall Polytechnic Society in 1912 as well as at the 1924 British Empire Exhibition at the Falkland Islands Court. The

holds some of the specimens Vallentin used to produce her coloured illustrations.

Family

Vallentin was married to fellow naturalist Rupert Vallentin.

Publications

''Illustrations of the flowering plants and ferns of the Falkland Island'' by Mrs E. F. Vallentin with descriptions by Mrs E. M. Cotton
(London, L. Reeve & Co., 1921)

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vallentin, Elinor Frances 1873 births 1924 deaths British botanists Falkland Islands artists Botanical illustrators 20th-century British women scientists