Ida Mary Roper (25 August 1865 – 8 June 1935) 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 author. She was the first female president of the Bristol Naturalist Society.

Early life

Ida was born to John, a pharmacist, and Lucy Roper in Westbury, Bristol, United Kingdom. She had a brother, Harold Roper, and two half-brothers named Frank and Ernest Samson, who were a product of Lucy's previous marriage. She attended Clifton High School, beginning in 1879.

Career

Roper began her

herbarium A herbarium (plural: herbaria) is a collection of preserved plant specimens and associated data used for scientific study. The specimens may be whole plants or plant parts; these will usually be in dried form mounted on a sheet of paper (called ...

in 1893, and continued adding to it until 1934. Her main areas of interest were

Pteridophyte A pteridophyte is a vascular plant (with xylem and phloem) that disperses spores. Because pteridophytes produce neither flowers nor seeds, they are sometimes referred to as "cryptogams", meaning that their means of reproduction is hidden. Ferns, ...

s and

Spermatophyte A spermatophyte (; ), also known as phanerogam (taxon Phanerogamae) or phaenogam (taxon Phaenogamae), is any plant that produces seeds, hence the alternative name seed plant. Spermatophytes are a subset of the embryophytes or land plants. They inc ...

s, of which Frank would often collect specimens. Acting as her associate, Frank Samson became her legal guardian and aided in Roper's research. Frank was known to be an active supporter in all of Roper's work. Roper was also interested in

moss Mosses are small, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic division Bryophyta (, ) '' sensu stricto''. Bryophyta (''sensu lato'', Schimp. 1879) may also refer to the parent group bryophytes, which comprise liverworts, mosses, and hor ...

es and

fern A fern (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta ) is a member of a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. The polypodiophytes include all living pteridophytes except t ...

s, as well as

Orchidaceae 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 ...

and

Violaceae Violaceae is a family of flowering plants established in 1802, consisting of about 1000 species in about 25 genera. It takes its name from the genus ''Viola'', the violets and pansies. Older classifications such as the Cronquist system placed t ...

families. In 1908, the Bristol Naturalists Society published her first paper, titled "The Blossoming of the Trees," and she soon became a fellow of the Linnean Society. In 1913, Roper was elected President of the Bristol Naturalists Society, a position that had never been held by a woman. Roper aided James Walter White, another botanist, in compiling a ''Flora of Bristol'', which was published in 1912. White acknowledged Roper for her "trustworthy and energetic help...for fieldwork...and assistance in literary research and in revision and correction of the press." After her death, Roper's herbarium was bequeathed to the

University of Leeds , mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased , established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds , ...

Publications and notable finds

*
The Monumental Effigies of Gloucestershire and Bristol
' *''Nitella'' ''mucronata'' var. ''gracillina'' ** Discovered growing in a pond in

Wickwar Wickwar is a village and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England, located between Yate and Charfield. At the 2001 census, the parish had a population of 1,943. History Wickwar was mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as ...

, West Gloucestershire in 1917 ** The most western recording of the species in England

Personal life

As a child Roper moved often with her family. This movement indicates that the Ropers were upper middle class, based on the postal codes of the areas they moved to. In addition, the Roper's had a servant within the household and employed four men in the family business. Other than botany, Roper held interests in archaeology, and had a book published on monumental effigies. She became the first woman to be elected to th
Council of the Bristol and Gloucestershire Archaeological Society
Roper was never married. She died on 8 June 1935 in a nursing home after falling ill, and is buried with her family at Arnos Vale Cemetery in Bristol.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roper, Ida Mary 1865 births 1935 deaths British women scientists British botanists British writers British women writers Scientists from Bristol