Margaret Rutherford Bryan Levyns (née Michell, 24 August 1890

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

– 11 November 1975 Cape Town) was an eminent South African

phytogeographer Phytogeography (from Greek φυτόν, ''phytón'' = "plant" and γεωγραφία, ''geographía'' = "geography" meaning also distribution) or botanical geography is the branch of biogeography that is concerned with the geographic distribution o ...

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 taxonomist.

Early life and education

Margaret Levyns was initially educated at home by her mother and later attended Ellerslie Girls' School. She obtained a first class matriculation and was awarded two bursaries. In 1908 she enrolled at the

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 ...

intending to study mathematics, geology and chemistry, with botany for her honours year. Prof. Harold Pearson persuaded her to take botany as a major subject. After winning two scholarships, the Queen Victoria Scholarship and the 1851 Exhibition Memorial Scholarship and spending 1912-14 at Newnham College, she returned to South Africa and was promptly awarded another scholarship to the

John Innes Institute The John Innes Centre (JIC), located in Norwich, Norfolk, England, is an independent centre for research and training in plant and microbial science founded in 1910. It is a registered charity (No 223852) grant-aided by the Biotechnology and B ...

where she chose to study genetics. On returning to South Africa for the second time, she took up a lecturing post in the Botany Department at the

which later became 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 was the first woman to receive a

D.Sc. Doctor of Science ( la, links=no, Scientiae Doctor), usually abbreviated Sc.D., D.Sc., S.D., or D.S., is an academic research degree awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. In some countries, "Doctor of Science" is the degree used f ...

degree from

, for her 1932 thesis 'A taxonomic study of ''Lobostemon'' and ''Echiostachys. Her publications included ''A Guide to the Flora of the Cape Peninsula'' in 1929, and substantial sections of ''Flora of the Cape Peninsula'' by Adamson & Salter in 1950. After her retirement in 1945, she remained active in the botanical field and published numerous papers on

taxonomy Taxonomy is the practice and science of categorization or classification. A taxonomy (or taxonomical classification) is a scheme of classification, especially a hierarchical classification, in which things are organized into groups or types. ...

and

phytogeography Phytogeography (from Greek φυτόν, ''phytón'' = "plant" and γεωγραφία, ''geographía'' = "geography" meaning also distribution) or botanical geography is the branch of biogeography that is concerned with the geographic distribution o ...

. She revised a number of South African genera e.g. ''Muraltia''. In 1923 she married John Levyns, later Assistant Provincial Secretary of the Cape Province and who served on the council of the Botanical Society of South Africa. Margaret Levyns is commemorated in '' Thamnochortus levynsiae'' Pillans, ''

Nivenia ''Nivenia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Iridaceae first described as a genus in 1808. Species in the genus are restricted in distribution to an area in the Cape Province of South Africa. The genus name is a tribute to the Scotti ...

levynsiae'' H. Weimarck and '' Crassula levynsiae'' Adamson. Some 12 000 of her collected specimens are lodged with 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 ...

(BOL) in Cape Town, the National Herbarium (PRE) in Pretoria, the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew (K) and other herbaria. This botanist is denoted by the author abbreviation Levyns when citing a

botanical name A botanical name is a formal scientific name conforming to the '' International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants'' (ICN) and, if it concerns a plant cultigen, the additional cultivar or Group epithets must conform to the ''Intern ...

Honours and awards

* President of Section B of the South African Association for Advancement of Science 1952/53 * South African Medal 1958 * President of the Royal Society of South Africa 1962/63 (first woman to hold this seat)

References

External links

*
Royal Society of South Africa

University of Cape Town Libraries
{{DEFAULTSORT:Levyns, Margaret 1890 births 1975 deaths 20th-century South African botanists South African women botanists 20th-century South African women scientists Alumni of Newnham College, Cambridge Botanists with author abbreviations Fellows of the Royal Society of South Africa South African taxonomists Women taxonomists University of Cape Town academics

Early life and education

Honours and awards

See also

References

External links