Florence Mary Paterson, née Hallack, also known as Mrs. T.V. Paterson, (15 July, 1869,

Port Elizabeth Gqeberha (), formerly Port Elizabeth and colloquially often referred to as P.E., is a major seaport and the most populous city in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is the seat of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality, Sou ...

– 5 June, 1936, Redhouse) was a South African plant collector. Her specimens are kept in the herbarium of

Albany Museum The Albany Museum, South Africa is situated in Grahamstown in South Africa, is affiliated to Rhodes University and dates back to 1855,Chinsamy, Anusuya. (1997). "Albany Museum, Grahamstown, South Africa." ''Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs''. Edited by ...

and the

Bolus Herbarium The Bolus Herbarium was established in 1865 from a donation by Harry Bolus of his extensive herbarium and library to the South African College, which later became the University of Cape Town. Its collection of specimens numbers over 320 000, mak ...

of the

University of Cape Town The University of Cape Town (UCT) ( af, Universiteit van Kaapstad, xh, Yunibesithi ya yaseKapa) is a public research university in Cape Town, South Africa. Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university statu ...

. She is honored in the plant name ''patersoniae'' and genus name '' Neopatersonia''.

Early life

Florence Mary Hallack was born on 15 July, 1869 in Port Elizabeth to English businessman and amateur botanist Russell Hallack and his wife Sarah, née Geard. She was the youngest of the nine children in the family. Hallack was encouraged by her father to observe the local

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 ...

and learn natural history. In 1895, Hallack married to Thomas Vernon Paterson of Redhouse.

Career

After marriage Paterson made a comprehensive collection of the flora of Port Elizabeth and

Uitenhage Uitenhage ( ; ), officially renamed Kariega, is a South African town in the Eastern Cape Province. It is well known for the Volkswagen factory located there, which is the biggest car factory on the African continent. Along with the city of Port El ...

area. Specimens from her collections had not been seen since Karl Ludwig Phillip Zeyher collected in that area in 1838. Paterson sent her specimens mainly to the professor of botany at

Rhodes University Rhodes University is a public university, public research university located in Makhanda, Eastern Cape, Makhanda (Grahamstown) in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. It is one of four universities in the province. Established in 1904, ...

and

curator A curator (from la, cura, meaning "to take care") is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the parti ...

(later director) of the

, Selmar Schönland. Paterson presented the first batch of specimens in 1908, followed by over 500 specimens in 1909. All her specimens were in a good condition, including undescribed species, and became a valuable addition to the museum's herbarium. In 1910 Paterson donated the Albany Museum plants from Port Alfred, Steytlervill and Cape Town, and in 1912 plants from Hanover, Uniondale, Natal and the Transvaal. In 1920s Paterson assisted the botanist Edith Stephens of

South African College The South African College was an educational institution in Cape Town, South Africa, which developed into the University of Cape Town (UCT) and the South African College Schools (SACS). History The process that would lead to the formation of t ...

, collecting specimens of the region's stonecrop family, the ''charophytes''. Florence Mary Paterson died on 5 June 1936 in Redhouse.

Honors

Schönland named the genus ''Neopatersonia'' (Fam. ''Liliaceae'') after Paterson in 1912. He also mentioned Paterson's contribution to collecting rare specimens in his letter to Sir

David Prain Sir David Prain (11 July 1857 – 16 March 1944) was a Scottish botanist who worked in India at the Calcutta Botanical Garden and went on to become Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Life Born to David Prain, a saddler, and his wife ...

in 1909, and specifically thanked her in Volume 1 of his

Memoirs A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based in the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autobiog ...

of the Botanical Survey of South Africa (1919).

Harry Bolus Harry Bolus (28 April 1834 – 25 May 1911) was a South African botanist, botanical artist, businessman and philanthropist. He advanced botany in South Africa by establishing bursaries, founding the Bolus Herbarium and bequeathing his library and ...

also thanked Paterson for collecting specimens in his Volume 3 of

Orchids Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of flowering ...

of South Africa (1913).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Paterson, Florence Mary 1869 births 1936 deaths Plant collectors South African women botanists 19th-century South African botanists People from Port Elizabeth 20th-century South African botanists 19th-century South African women scientists 20th-century South African women scientists