Helena M. L. Forbes (11 September 1900 – 5 September 1959) was a Scottish botanist, plant collector and curator who worked primarily on South African flora.

Biography

Helena Madelain Lamond Forbes was born on 11 September 1900 in Forfar, Scotland. When she was a young child, her parents emigrated to

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

and Forbes childhood was spent there. On 1 July 1919 she joined Natal Herbarium in Durban as a Junior Assistant in the Botany Division. She became responsible for herbarium maintenance and plant identification. From 1936-37 she worked at

Kew Gardens Kew Gardens is a botanical garden, botanic garden in southwest London that houses the "largest and most diverse botany, botanical and mycology, mycological collections in the world". Founded in 1840, from the exotic garden at Kew Park, its li ...

as the South African Liaison Officer. She subsequently returned to South Africa, where she joined the National Herbarium in Pretoria in 1938. In 1940 she returned to Natal Herbarium as Curator and stayed in post until her retirement on 10 September 1955. At her retirement she was described as "a stalwart that kept botanical wheels turning at the herbarium". She suffered from rheumatoid arthritis and died on 5 September 1959.

Research

Forbes was recognised as an authority on the flora of the Natal and, whilst she did not publish widely, she did contribute major revisions of two genera: '' Psoralea'' and '' Tephrosia.'' Work on ''Psoralea'' had begun as early in her career as 1923 and in 1934 she began her work on ''Tephrosia''. During her lifetime she published thirty-two plant names, some of which include: the taxon ''

Ophrestia ''Ophrestia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the legume family, Fabaceae The Fabaceae or Leguminosae,Kalanchoe ''Kalanchoe'' , also written ''Kalanchöe'' or ''Kalanchoë'', is a genus of about 125 species of tropical, succulent plants in the stonecrop family Crassulaceae, mainly native to Madagascar and tropical Africa. A ''Kalanchoe'' species was one ...

'' ''albiflora''. During her time at the Natal Herbarium she contributed 1400 specimens to the collection, most of which were from the region. Early in her career she worked on the genus '' Cassia'', as well as flora from

Isipingo Isipingo is a town situated south of Durban in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa and currently forms part of eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality. The town is named after the Siphingo River, which in turn is thought to be named (in the Zulu language) f ...

Eponym

The Indian Ocean alga '' Beckerella helenae'' is named after Forbes.

Selected publications

* 'The Genus Psoralea Linn.' in ''Bothalia'' (1936). *'A further record of the genus azalea in South Africa. A. Alata (sim) h. Forbes.' ''South African Journal of Science'' (1939).Forbes, H. L. "A further record of the genus azalea in South Africa. A. Alata (sim) h. Forbes." ''South African Journal of Science'' 36.12 (1939): 315.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Forbes, Helena 1900 births 1959 deaths People from Forfar 20th-century South African botanists South African women botanists Scottish botanists 20th-century South African women scientists Botanists active in Kew Gardens British emigrants to the Colony of Natal