Hedvig Karolina Lovisa Santesson (née Lovén) was a Swedish

botanist Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...

who made significant contributions to the field of plant respiration in the late 19th century.

Early life

Born on December 13, 1867, in

Stockholm, Sweden Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

, she was the daughter of , a Swedish physician and politician, and Elisabeth Johanna Emilia (née von Julin), who hailed from Finland.

Scientific work

Lovén pursued her education at a type of Scandinavian college known as Hogskola, where she developed a keen interest in

botany Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...

. Between 1888 and 1892, Hedvig Lovén published three academic papers on botany and conducted extensive research on

plant respiration Cellular respiration is the process of oxidizing biological fuels using an inorganic electron acceptor, such as oxygen, to drive production of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which stores chemical energy in a biologically accessible form. Cellul ...

studies. Her papers explored various aspects of plant respiration, shedding light on the mechanisms by which plants and

algae Algae ( , ; : alga ) is an informal term for any organisms of a large and diverse group of photosynthesis, photosynthetic organisms that are not plants, and includes species from multiple distinct clades. Such organisms range from unicellular ...

exchange gases and obtain energy through metabolic processes. Her work contributed to the understanding of

plant physiology Plant physiology is a subdiscipline of botany concerned with the functioning, or physiology, of plants. Plant physiologists study fundamental processes of plants, such as photosynthesis, respiration, plant nutrition, plant hormone functions, tr ...

and the role of respiration in plant growth and development. Specifically, Lovén's paper on

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has Leaf, foliage that remains green and functional throughout the year. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which lose their foliage completely during the winter or dry season. Consisting of many diffe ...

plants belonging to the genus Dracaena and

Yucca ''Yucca'' ( , YUCK-uh) is both the scientific name and common name for a genus native to North America from Panama to southern Canada. It contains 50 accepted species. In addition to yucca, they are also known as Adam's needle or Spanish-bayon ...

played a pivotal role in resolving a controversial debate between two prominent botanists, Gustav (Heinrich) Krabbe and

Leopold Kny Carl Ignaz Leopold Kny (6 July 1841 – 26 June 1916) was a German botanist, notable as a specialist in research involving the morphology of fungi and cryptogams. He is best known for his production of botanical wall-charts, the ''Botanische Wand ...

, in the late 1800s. Her work provided independent evidence regarding the nature of water-conducting elements in the secondary wood of Dracaena and other

monocotyledons Monocotyledons (), commonly referred to as monocots, (Lilianae ''sensu'' Chase & Reveal) are flowering plants whose seeds contain only one embryonic leaf, or cotyledon. A monocot taxon has been in use for several decades, but with various ranks and ...

that share a similar mode of growth. Lovén's findings shed light on the mechanisms of

cell fusion Cell fusion is an important cellular process in which several uninucleate cells (cells with a single nucleus) combine to form a multinucleate cell, known as a syncytium. Cell fusion occurs during differentiation of myoblasts, osteoclasts and ...

and growth in these plants, offering valuable insights into the field of plant biology.

Personal life

In 1892, Hedvig Lovén married

Carl Gustav Santesson Carl may refer to: *Carl, Georgia, city in USA *Carl, West Virginia, an unincorporated community *Carl (name), includes info about the name, variations of the name, and a list of people with the name *Carl², a TV series * "Carl", an episode of tel ...

, a professor of medicine and pharmacology at the

Karolinska Institute The Karolinska Institute (KI; ; sometimes known as the (Royal) Caroline Institute in English) is a research-led medical university in Solna within the Stockholm urban area of Sweden and one of the foremost medical research institutes globally ...

. Together, they had four children: Carl Gustaf Christian Santesson, Maja Johanna Vilhelmina Santesson, Anna Lisa Augusta Santesson, and Lars Johan Henrik Santesson. Hedvig Lovén died on October 26, 1943, at the age of 75.

References

{{Authority control 1867 births 1943 deaths Swedish women botanists Scientists from Stockholm 19th-century Swedish botanists 19th-century Swedish women scientists Swedish people of Finnish descent Plant physiologists