Elizabeth Edgar (27 December 1929 – 1 January 2019) was a New Zealand

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 ...

, best known for her work in authoring and editing three of the five volumes of the series ''Flora of New Zealand'', which describes and classifies the species of

flora Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous) native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' gut flora'' or '' skin flora''. E ...

of the country. She was most noted for her

taxonomic Taxonomy is the practice and science of categorization or classification. A taxonomy (or taxonomical classification) is a scheme of classification, especially a hierarchical classification, in which things are organized into groups or types. ...

work on the biodiversity of New Zealand and was recognised as the foremost authority on nomenclature and description of the country's plants.

Early life

Edgar was born on 27 December 1929 in

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...

, New Zealand, and grew up in

Spreydon Spreydon is a suburb of Christchurch, New Zealand, south-south-west of Cathedral Square. The most central street through Spreydon is Barrington Street. Spreydon is flanked by the suburbs Hoon Hay, Sydenham, and Lower Cashmere. State Highway ...

with her two sisters. Her family were some of the first European settlers of New Zealand and her aunt, Marion Liddell Fyfe, was the first female lecturer 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, animal kingdom, including the anatomy, structure, embryology, evolution, Biological clas ...

at the

University of Otago , image_name = University of Otago Registry Building2.jpg , image_size = , caption = University clock tower , motto = la, Sapere aude , mottoeng = Dare to be wise , established = 1869; 152 years ago , type = Public research collegiate u ...

. She was educated at

Rangi Ruru Girls' School Rangi Ruru Girls' School is a New Zealand private girls' day and boarding secondary school located in Merivale, an inner suburb of Christchurch. The school is affiliated to the Presbyterian Church, and serves approximately girls from Years ...

in Merivale, and, encouraged by her mother, then attended

Canterbury University College The University of Canterbury ( mi, Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha; postnominal abbreviation ''Cantuar.'' or ''Cant.'' for ''Cantuariensis'', the Latin name for Canterbury) is a public research university based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was f ...

. Edgar graduated with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

in classics in 1950 and continued her studies while working as a library assistant for the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR) earning a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

in botany in 1953. Taking unpaid leave from DSIR, Edgar earned a master's degree with her thesis, "The Special Characteristics of Some New Zealand Cotulas with Particular Reference to their Breeding Systems" in 1957 and then finished her PhD. Her doctoral thesis was ''"''The Cytology of the Shoot Apex in some Dicotyledons" and was completed in 1960 at Canterbury University College.

Career

Edgar returned to DSIR in 1959 working in the Botany Division at the

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincol ...

facility. She worked with Dr Lucy Moore to revise the

naming conventions A naming convention is a convention (generally agreed scheme) for naming things. Conventions differ in their intents, which may include to: * Allow useful information to be deduced from the names based on regularities. For instance, in Manhatta ...

of New Zealand's

monocotyledons Monocotyledons (), commonly referred to as monocots, (Lilianae ''sensu'' Chase & Reveal) are grass and grass-like flowering plants (angiosperms), the seeds of which typically contain only one embryonic leaf, or cotyledon. They constitute one of t ...

, particularly working on the varied and extensive rushes and

sedges The Cyperaceae are a family of graminoid (grass-like), monocotyledonous flowering plants known as sedges. The family is large, with some 5,500 known species described in about 90 genera, the largest being the "true sedges" genus ''Carex'' wit ...

of the country. Their work was published in 1970 as Volume II of the ''Flora of New Zealand'', which catalogued all types of monocotyledons in New Zealand except the

grasses Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns and ...

. Continuing her work on monocotyledons, Edgar worked on the ''Flora of New Zealand'' Volume III with Arthur Healy to identify both the

naturalised Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-citizen of a country may acquire citizenship or nationality of that country. It may be done automatically by a statute, i.e., without any effort on the part of the i ...

and native

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

within each

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

. In addition to her forty-nine research papers and four books concerning her taxonomic research, Edgar assembled a

compendium A compendium (plural: compendia or compendiums) is a comprehensive collection of information and analysis pertaining to a body of knowledge. A compendium may concisely summarize a larger work. In most cases, the body of knowledge will concern a s ...

of all of the taxonomy publications of the plants of New Zealand. Edgar coordinated and supervised the publication of David J. Galloway's volume ''Flora of New Zealand: Lichens'' and then worked with Henry E. Connor to compile the extensive taxonomy of New Zealand's grasses. She retired from DSIR in 1988, but continued to work on the grasses project until it was published in 2000 as Volume V of the ''Flora of New Zealand'' series. Edgar was for the first time listed at the senior author for a volume of the ''Flora''. Working as a research fellow for

Landcare Research Landcare may refer to: * Australian Landcare Council, a now superseded Australian government body * Landcare in Australia, umbrella approach promoting land protection in Australia * Landcare Research, New Zealand *The Landcare movement in Australi ...

, with Connor, also retired but a research fellow at Canterbury University, the two compiled a study of all currently known grasses in the country's biogeographical region. As grasses are the most important flora in terms of economic and ecologic value to the country, the volume was an important contribution to evaluating the biodiversity of the New Zealand. Edgar described 54 new species and subspecies, mostly of grasses, sedges, and rushes, including 11 species in the genus '' Poa''. She was also recognised as an expert in

nomenclature Nomenclature (, ) is a system of names or terms, or the rules for forming these terms in a particular field of arts or sciences. The principles of naming vary from the relatively informal naming conventions, conventions of everyday speech to the i ...

and skilled in both Greek and Latin. Edgar received the

New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal The New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal was a commemorative medal awarded in New Zealand in 1990 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, and was awarded to approximately 3,000 people. Background The New Zea ...

, and in 1993 the New Zealand Botanical Societies Allan Mere Award. Both Edgar and Connor were recognised with the

Royal Society Te Apārangi The Royal Society Te Apārangi (in full, Royal Society of New Zealand Te Apārangi) is an independent, statutory not-for-profit body in New Zealand providing funding and policy advice in the fields of sciences and the humanities. History The R ...

Hutton Medal The Hutton Medal is awarded annually by the Royal Society Te Apārangi to a researcher who, working within New Zealand, has significantly advanced understanding through work of outstanding scientific or technological merit. Requirements Prior ...

in 2000 for their work. In 2010, the duo published a revision of Volume V. The ''Flora of New Zealand'' series are unique, as all of the descriptions are taken from measurements and notes collected in New Zealand, garnering international recognition.

Death and legacy

Edgar died on 1 January 2019, in Christchurch, at the age of 89. She was considered the "foremost authority on naming and describing plants" in New Zealand. Botanist Brian Molloy stated she would be remembered as one of New Zealand's greatest botanists. Three New Zealand species — '' Carex edgariae'', ''

Juncus edgariae ''Juncus edgariae'' is a species of rush, commonly called Edgar's rush or wīwī, that is endemic to New Zealand. The species was described in 2001 by Lawrie Johnson and Karen Wilson. It had previously been confused with ''Juncus gregiflorus' ...

'' and '' Libertia edgariae'' — have been named in her honour. In 2017, Edgar was selected as one of the Royal Society Te Apārangi's "

150 women in 150 words Fifteen or 15 may refer to: *15 (number), the natural number following 14 and preceding 16 *one of the years 15 BC, AD 15, 1915, 2015 Music *Fifteen (band), a punk rock band Albums * ''15'' (Buckcherry album), 2005 * ''15'' (Ani Lorak alb ...

", celebrating the contributions of women to knowledge in New Zealand.

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Edgar, Elizabeth 1929 births 2019 deaths Scientists from Christchurch University of Canterbury alumni 20th-century New Zealand women scientists 20th-century New Zealand botanists People educated at Rangi Ruru Girls' School People associated with Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (New Zealand) New Zealand women botanists