Lucy Beatrice Moore (14 July 1906 – 9 June 1987) was a New Zealand botanist and ecologist.
Biography
Early life and education
Moore was born in
Warkworth, New Zealand, on 14 July 1906, the daughter of Janet Morison and Harry Blomfield Moore.
Her father was a local librarian and keen amateur naturalist.
She went to primary school at
Warkworth and then left home to attend
Epsom Girls' Grammar school
, motto_translation = ''Through difficulties to greatness.''
, coordinates =
, type = State Single Sex Girls Secondary (Year 9–13) with Boarding Facilities
, established = 12 February 1917
, MOE = 64
, principal = Lorraine Pound
, colo ...
in Auckland.
She won both a Junior and a Senior National Scholarship at Epsom Girls' as well as a University National Scholarship after enrolling as a student at
Auckland University College
, mottoeng = By natural ability and hard work
, established = 1883; years ago
, endowment = NZD $293 million (31 December 2021)
, budget = NZD $1.281 billion (31 December 2021)
, chancellor = Cecilia Tarrant
, vice_chancellor = Dawn F ...
in 1925. Moore graduated MSc with first-class honours in 1929
under the direction of the botanist
T. L. Lancaster. Her thesis was on the root parasite ''
Dactylanthus''.
Career
Moore was at first unsuccessful in her attempt to work as a botanist. She applied for but failed to obtain positions at both the
University of Canterbury
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 ...
and
Victoria University of Wellington
Victoria University of Wellington ( mi, Te Herenga Waka) is a university in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of Parliament, and was a constituent college of the University of New Zealand.
The university is well know ...
. This was in spite of the fact that her botanic research and writing was extremely prolific and praised by eminent botanists such as Dr
Leonard Cockayne
Leonard Cockayne (7 April 1855 – 8 July 1934) is regarded as New Zealand's greatest botanist and a founder of modern science in New Zealand.
Biography
He was born in Sheffield, England where he attended Wesley College. He travelled to Austra ...
. She was employed from 1929 to 1938 as a demonstrator in zoology at the University of Auckland. She was awarded the
Duffus Lubecki Scholarship annually between 1929 and 1931. This scholarship enabled her to undertake scientific research and she was able to balance this work with her demonstrating commitments.
She undertook a series of trips to
Mt Moehau at the tip of the
Coromandel Peninsula
The Coromandel Peninsula ( mi, Te Tara-O-Te-Ika-A-Māui) on the North Island of New Zealand extends north from the western end of the Bay of Plenty, forming a natural barrier protecting the Hauraki Gulf and the Firth of Thames in the we ...
as field work for the Duffus Lubecki Scholarship. She was accompanied on most of these field trips by her close friend and fellow botanist,
Lucy Cranwell. The two botanists made a number of field trips into remote parts of the country in order to contribute to information about native flora. The Moehau expeditions were followed in 1930 by a field trip to
Maungapohatu
Maungapohatu is a settlement in the Bay of Plenty Region of New Zealand's North Island. Located in a remote area of the Te Urewera, Urewera bush country about north of Lake Waikaremoana, it was founded by Rua Tapunui Kenana in 1907 and was substa ...
, deep in the heart of the
Urewera
Te Urewera is an area of mostly forested, sparsely populated rugged hill country in the North Island of New Zealand, a large part of which is within a protected area designated in 2014, that was formerly Te Urewera National Park.
Te Urewera is ...
country.
Together they wrote important papers on the northern high-peak vegetation of Mt Moehau and Maungapohatu, and on the
Hen and Chickens Islands.
In May 1935 the two botanists began a 10-month trip to Britain and Europe, where they attended botanical congresses in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
and
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...
. Moore had the opportunity to work briefly at Kristineberg and Plymouth marine biological stations, and to demonstrate zoology at
University College London
, mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward
, established =
, type = Public research university
, endowment = £143 million (2020)
, budget = ...
. Upon their return to New Zealand they continued their field work together. Moore and Cranwell also produced zoological research, writing a highly original and influential joint paper on the intertidal zonation of the
Poor Knights Islands
The Poor Knights Islands (Māori: ''Tawhiti Rahi)'' are a group of islands off the east coast of the Northland Region of the North Island of New Zealand. They lie to the northeast of Whangarei, and offshore halfway between Bream Head an ...
that was published in 1938.
In 1938 Moore obtained a position in the botany division of the
Department of Scientific and Industrial Research Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, abbreviated DSIR was the name of several British Empire organisations founded after the 1923 Imperial Conference to foster intra-Empire trade and development.
* Department of Scientific and Industria ...
(DSIR). She was given responsibility for lower plants, and also assigned to work on weeds. This led to an important paper on the pasture invasion and life history of the hard fern
Paesia
''Paesia'' is a genus of large, coarse ferns in the family Dennstaedtiaceae described as a genus in 1833. Species are known from South America, Central America, East Asia
East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both Ge ...
, published in 1942.
During the Second World War, she developed a project involving the extraction of
agar
Agar ( or ), or agar-agar, is a jelly-like substance consisting of polysaccharides obtained from the cell walls of some species of red algae, primarily from ogonori (''Gracilaria'') and "tengusa" (''Gelidiaceae''). As found in nature, agar is ...
from seaweed, in order to grow cultures for bacteria. Japan had previously been the world supplier of agar.
In later years Moore was to remain an
algologist, working with the botanical artist
Nancy M. Adams to produce the widely read ''Plants of the New Zealand coast'' in 1963.
After the war Moore changed her research field to the tussock-lands of Molesworth, in
Marlborough
Marlborough may refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Marlborough, Wiltshire, England
** Marlborough College, public school
* Marlborough School, Woodstock in Oxfordshire, England
* The Marlborough Science Academy in Hertfordshire, England
Austral ...
.
She published on the invasive scabweed ''
Raoulia'' in 1953, on Rumex-dominated communities in 1954, and in 1955 and 1956 on introduced grass and tussock establishment. At the International Botanical Congress at Stockholm in 1950 she spoke on both ''Raoulia'' ecology and ''
Sphacelaria'', a small brown alga.
In 1953 Moore began worked with Dr
Harry Allan
Harry Howard Barton Allan (27 April 1882 – 29 October 1957) was a New Zealand teacher, botanist, scientific administrator, and writer. Despite never receiving a formal education in botany, he became an eminent scientist, publishing ove ...
on Volume I of the ''Flora of New Zealand''. Her contributions include taxonomic revision in ''
Colobanthus
''Colobanthus'' is a large genus of small, cushion-like herbaceous plants in the family Caryophyllaceae, sometimes known as "pearlworts", a name they share with plants of the related genus '' Sagina''. ''C. quitensis'' is the world's southernmo ...
'', ''
Myosotis
''Myosotis'' ( ) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Boraginaceae. The name comes from the Ancient Greek "mouse's ear", which the foliage is thought to resemble. In the northern hemisphere they are colloquially known as forget-me-no ...
'', ''
Ourisia'', ''
Plantago
''Plantago'' is a genus of about 200 species of flowering plants in the family Plantaginaceae, commonly called plantains or fleaworts. The common name plantain is shared with the unrelated cooking plantain. Most are herbaceous plants, though a ...
'', ''
Pomaderris
''Pomaderris'' is a genus of about 80 species of flowering plants in the family Rhamnaceae, the species native to Australia and/or New Zealand. Plants in the genus ''Pomaderris'' are usually shrubs, sometimes small trees with simple leaves arran ...
'', and ''
Veronica'' (as ''Hebe''). Allan's death in 1957 left her with editorial responsibility for the whole project.
She produced Volume II of the series with Dr
Elizabeth Edgar
Elizabeth Edgar (27 December 1929 – 1 January 2019) was a New Zealand botanist, 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 ...
.
In 1960 Moore moved to the botany division of the DSIR at
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 ...
.
The shift coincided with the start of work on the second volume of the series. This work prompted Moore to write separate papers on
asteliads, ''
Bulbinella'', ''
Libertia'' and
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 ...
. Published in 1970, Volume II of Flora of New Zealand was hailed for its thorough scholarship.
Retirement
Although Moore retired in 1971 she remained active at Lincoln until 1980. The final grassland ecology bulletin, ''The changing vegetation of Molesworth station, New Zealand, 1944 to 1971'', appeared in 1976, and in 1978 she produced ''The Oxford Book of New Zealand Plants'' with
J. B. Irwin as
botanical illustrator
Botanical illustration is the art of depicting the form, color, and details of plant species, frequently in watercolor paintings. They must be scientifically accurate but often also have an artistic component and may be printed with a botanical ...
. She returned to Warkworth in 1980.
In 1985 she gave a lecture to the
Auckland Botanical Society looking back on the work she and Cranwell did in the 1920s. In 1986 she gave another lecture, the inaugural
Lucy Cranwell Lecture to the Auckland Botanical Society.
Death
Moore died on 9 June 1987 at her Orewa rest home.
Published works
Along with the above-mentioned books, Moore published numerous scientific papers on a range of subjects including marine and terrestrial ecology, the taxonomy of flowering plants, seaweeds and barnacles, plant geography, flower biology, carpology and the history of New Zealand botany.
Honours and awards
In 1945, Moore was elected a fellow of the
Linnean Society
The Linnean Society of London is a learned society dedicated to the study and dissemination of information concerning natural history, evolution, and taxonomy. It possesses several important biological specimen, manuscript and literature colle ...
of London. She was appointed a
Member of the Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
in the
1959 Queen's Birthday Honours, and in 1963 the University of Canterbury gave her its DSc for her Hebe research. A fellow of the
Royal Society of New Zealand
Royal may refer to:
People
* Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name
* A member of a royal family
Places United States
* Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community
* Royal, Illinois, a village
* Royal, Iowa, a cit ...
from 1947, she was awarded its
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 1965. In the same year she delivered the
Leonard Cockayne Memorial Lecture. In 1974 she was awarded the
Sir Ernest Marsden Medal for Service to Science by the
New Zealand Association of Scientists
The New Zealand Association of Scientists is an independent association for scientists in New Zealand. It was founded in 1941 as the New Zealand Association of Scientific Workers, and renamed in 1954Gregory, G., 2013. Not to be forgotten: New Ze ...
.
Moore also established the
Allan Mere Award in honour of
Harry Allan
Harry Howard Barton Allan (27 April 1882 – 29 October 1957) was a New Zealand teacher, botanist, scientific administrator, and writer. Despite never receiving a formal education in botany, he became an eminent scientist, publishing ove ...
which is now presented by the
New Zealand Botanical Society to outstanding botanists in acknowledgement of their significant contribution to botany in New Zealand. The Mere that Moore donated for the prize is housed at the Allan Herbarium at Landcare Research, Lincoln.
The New Zealand native grass species ''
Festuca luciarum'' is named after Moore and her fellow botanist
Lucy Cranwell.
In 2017, Moore 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.
Authority abbreviation
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moore, Lucy
1906 births
1987 deaths
20th-century New Zealand botanists
New Zealand ecologists
Women ecologists
University of Auckland alumni
People from Warkworth, New Zealand
People associated with Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (New Zealand)
20th-century New Zealand women scientists
New Zealand Members of the Order of the British Empire
Fellows of the Royal Society of New Zealand
Fellows of the Linnean Society of London
New Zealand women botanists
New Zealand naturalists