The Endemic Flora of Tasmania was written by Dr Winifred Curtis with coloured lithographs by botanical illustrator, Margaret Stones. [1] It is a six-volume book that was commissioned by the 7th Baron Talbot of Malahide (1912-1973), an Irish peer, and published by the Ariel Press in 1967. Both Stones and Curtis worked alongside each other in Tasmania, Australia, studying the depths of Tasmanian Flora.
Tasmania was discovered during Captain Cook's voyages starting in 1772, and this is when Tasmanian Flora was first appreciated. During his first voyage, there is no historical evidence of his botanical collections, though, on his third voyage to Australia, the first plant collections from ‘The Island of van Diemen’ stemmed. This plant collection was gathered by David Nelson and William Anderson at Adventure Bay [2]
Jacques Julien Houtou de Labillardiere, a French man joined one a voyage in search of La Perouse in 1800 made significant contributions to the discovery and development of Tasmanian Flora. Labillardiere collected flora, working alongside prisoners who would sketch black and white copper engravings of flora [3]
In 1804, Robert Brown, a Scottish botanist and naturalist begun analysing the nucleus of a cell, and he also collected 700 species of dried Australian plants during his voyages with Cook. [4] Records of where Brown collected plants is brief, though it can be gathered that he was based at Risdon Cove and Sullivans Cove in Hobart, [5] alongside noting he made significant scientific developments, especially considering the context.
The Endemic Flora of Tasmania was written by Winifred Mary Curtis with paintings by Margaret Stones. Curtis was offered the chance to write ecological and descriptive notes that align with the paintings of Stones, all commissioned by Lord Talbot of Malahide. This book originally began as a book series with information of flora, called The Student's Flora of Tasmania, 1967, which evolved into The Endemic Flora of Tasmania. This original version of the book was written by Mary Winifred Curtis, working alongside Dr Gordon. Soon after beginning this project, Dr Gordon resigned from the task; this left Curtis to take on sole responsibilities. [6] At the time she was commissioned by Lord Talbot of Malahide, Curtis was also working at Kew Gardens in the early 1950s as an illustrator, where she was a major contributor to Curtis's Botanical Magazine . Her hard work developed into The Endemic Flora of Tasmania, working alongside Margaret Stones, with their book that includes 55 native plant illustrations, and 36 painted plates by Stones.
The first volume was published in 1967, the second volume in 1969, the third in 1971, the fourth in 1973, the fifth in 1978, and lastly, the sixth volume was published in 1978. Lord Talbot of Malahide commissioned the project, being a rare plant enthusiast and gardener; he particularly developed the gardens surrounding Malahide Castle, his family seat in the north of County Dublin on the east coast of Ireland. His Lordship also owned a large estate called Malahide in Tasmania itself. However, shortly after part IV was published, he died in 1973. His sister, Rose Maud Talbot, continued the project [7] [8] The appendix, at the end of the book, completes all 6 parts with systematically listed endemic flora based on botanical family and genus [9] Within the appendix, there also is an alphabetical list of all the flora listed in the books. Heather Rossiter notes that these books provide a magnificent monument in honour of Lord Talbot who begun this significant project. [10] Winifred Mary Curtis and Margaret Stones took an active approach in developing their knowledge of Flora in Tasmania as they were often on field, collecting Fauna to explore. Source A shows the collecting case Curtis used when in the field, alongside source B showing the razor she used she to section plants.
Winifred Mary Curtis was born on 15 June 1905, London growing up during the post-Victorian period [11] and died at the age of 100, on 14 October 2005, Hobart. [12] In 1924, Winifred went to University College in London, taking an interest in the study of Botany, Chemistry, Maths and Physics.She developed her passion for flora through her father, who would talk to her about trees, and her mother took pride in her garden. [13] Most women during this period of the early 1900s would stay at home and wait to be married to a man, though Winifred's parents, ‘entertained her thoughts of a career’ encouraging her to pursue her passion. Winifred was continuously rejected by jobs on the basis that she was a woman, disregarding the fact that she had the best qualifications and numerous university certificates. After much rejection, she became a teacher at an all-girls school in Manchester following her degree at Cambridge Teachers College. Curtis and her father moved to Hobart, Tasmania, Australia, in 1939 where she became the second woman to join the academic staff board at the University of Tasmania's School of Plant Science. [14] She studied and taught Zoology and Botany. By late 1942, she was she only full-time female staff member at the university where she also studied chromosome numbers in Dianella.
In 1944, Winifred Mary Curtis was studying the first record of polyploidy [15] which she published and developed a thesis on. In 1951, she significantly was appointed senior lecturer and in following years, was acting head of multiple departments. Despite growing up in a predominantly male society, she published 14 scientific papers, alongside 3 editions of ‘Biology for Australian Students’. Winifred Mary Curtis became the Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Tasmania's School of Plant Science in 1966 and over the next decade, she published seven papers.
In 1966 when Winifred retired at the age of 61, she continued to show her passion for flora which assisted in establishing the Tasmanian Herbarium in 1971. [16]
Margaret Stones provides the coloured lithographs in ‘The Endemic Flora of Tasmania’ working alongside Winifred Mary Curtis throughout the process. She was born in Colac, Victoria in 1920, and died in 2018 at the age in 98. [17] Stones was living during WWII when she studied at Swinburne Technical College before nursing at Epworth Hospital in Richmond.
Stones wasn't actively pursuing art in her life, and it wasn't until she was hospitalised with tuberculosis in 1945 that this changed. [18] She noted the beginning of her passion for drawing wildflowers was in hospital as she showed immense interest in drawing the Australian wildflowers gifted to her by her friends and family. [19]
Daryl Lindsay, an Australian art collector first purchased Stones work in 1946 which ultimately begun her career. Stones moved to London in 1951 to pursue her passion for drawing where she held many solo exhibitions at P & D Colnagi which is one of the most significant print and drawing dealers in London. Stones caught Curtis's attention in 1958 when they worked together producing more than 400 water-coloured drawings for Curtis's Botanical Magazine .
‘The Endemic Flora of Tasmania’ has been referred to as being “one of the most important botanical publications in the 20th century” according to the Australian Garden History. [20] [21] This incredibly successful book allowed for the enhancement of public interest in Tasmania flora, providing knowledgeable information and engaging pictures. [22] Frans A. Stafleu, a credible Dutch system botanist and former chairs person of the Institute of Systemic Botany reviews this book with positive words. He notes that the writing style is ‘informative and lightly written’ being informal and easy to read while also having the power to put Tasmania on ‘the map of botanical illustration’. [23] Curtis had such tremendous impact on the world of flora, that she had multiple books honouring her, including ‘Aspects of Tasmania Botany: a tribute to Winifred Curtis’, and ‘Winifred Mary Curtis: A biographical sketch’. This shows the significant influence Curtis had which was enhanced through her monumental book, ‘The Endemic Flora of Tasmania’.
Lomatia tasmanica, commonly known as King's lomatia, is a shrub of the family Proteaceae native to Tasmania. Growing up to 8 metres (26 ft) tall, the plant has shiny green pinnate (lobed) leaves and bears red flowers in the summer, but yields neither fruit nor seeds. King's lomatia is unusual because all of the remaining plants are genetically identical clones. Because it has three sets of chromosomes and is therefore sterile, reproduction occurs only vegetatively: when a branch falls, that branch grows new roots, establishing a new plant that is genetically identical to its parent.
International Botanical Congress (IBC) is an international meeting of botanists in all scientific fields, authorized by the International Association of Botanical and Mycological Societies (IABMS) and held every six years, with the location rotating between different continents. The current numbering system for the congresses starts from the year 1900; the XX IBC was in Madrid, Spain, July 2024. The XXI IBC is planned to be in Cape Town, South Africa, in July 2029.
Winifred Mary Curtis was a British-born Australian botanist, author and a pioneer researcher in plant embryology and cytology who played a prominent role in the department of botany at the University of Tasmania (UTAS), where the main plant science laboratory is named in her honour.
Eucalyptus vernicosa, commonly known as varnished gum, is a species of shrub or a mallee that is endemic to mountainous areas of Tasmania. It has smooth greyish bark, crowded, egg-shaped to elliptical or round leaves, flower buds singly or in groups of three in leaf axils, white flowers and hemispherical or bell-shaped fruit.
Isophysis is a genus of herbaceous, perennial and rhizomatous plants in the Iris family (Iridaceae). A monotypic genus formerly known as Hewardia, it contains a single species, Isophysis tasmanica is a Palaeoendemic found only in the south-west of Tasmania.
Elsie Margaret Stones, was an Australian botanical illustrator.
Stonesiella selaginoides, the clubmoss bush-pea, is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae. It belongs to the subfamily Faboideae. It is the only member of the genus Stonesiella and is endemic to Tasmania. It is named to recognise Australian botanical illustrator Margaret Stones.
Helen Margaret Gilkey (1886–1972) was an American mycologist and botanist, as well as a botanical illustrator and watercolor artist She was born on March 6, 1886, in Montesano, Washington, and moved to Corvallis, Oregon, with her family in 1903. She died in 1972 at the age of 86.
Lilian Snelling (1879–1972) was "probably the most important British botanical artist of the first half of the 20th century". She was the principal artist and lithographer to Curtis's Botanical Magazine between 1921 and 1952 and "was considered one of the greatest botanical artists of her time" – "her paintings were both detailed and accurate and immensely beautiful". She was appointed MBE in 1954 and was awarded the Victoria Medal in 1955. The standard author abbreviation Snelling is used to indicate this person as the author when citing a botanical name.
Campynema is a genus in the family Campynemataceae first described in 1805. It contains only one known species (monotypic), Campynema lineare, endemic to the island of Tasmania in Australia. Its closest relative is Campynemanthe, endemic to New Caledonia, sole other genus of the family.
Elinor Frances Vallentin (formerly Nichol; was a British botanist and botanical illustrator who made scientifically significant collections of botany specimens in the Falkland Islands. She co-authored the book Illustrations of the flowering plants and ferns of the Falkland Islands in 1921 with Enid Mary Cotton, a fellow botanist. This work was regarded as being particularly valuable because of Vallentin's botanical illustrations. The standard author abbreviation Vallentin is used to indicate this person as the author when citing a botanical name.
The Flora Antarctica, or formally and correctly The Botany of the Antarctic Voyage of H.M. Discovery Ships Erebus and Terror in the years 1839–1843, under the Command of Captain Sir James Clark Ross, is a description of the many plants discovered on the Ross expedition, which visited islands off the coast of the Antarctic continent, with a summary of the expedition itself, written by the British botanist Joseph Dalton Hooker and published in parts between 1844 and 1859 by Reeve Brothers in London. Hooker sailed on HMS Erebus as assistant surgeon.
The Flora Tasmaniae is a description of the plants discovered in Tasmania during the Ross expedition written by Joseph Dalton Hooker and published by Reeve Brothers in London between 1855 and 1860. Hooker sailed on HMS Erebus as assistant surgeon. Written in two volumes, it was the last in a series of four Floras in the Flora Antarctica, the others being the Botany of Lord Auckland's Group and Campbell's Island (1843–1845), the Botany of Fuegia, the Falklands, Kerguelen's Land, Etc. (1845–47), and the Flora Novae-Zelandiae (1851–1853). They were "splendidly" illustrated by Walter Hood Fitch.
Trochocarpa thymifolia is a species of flowering plant from the family Ericacae and is endemic to Tasmania. It is a widespread alpine and subalpine shrub with small leaves, pink to red flowers and blue to purple fruit. Originally described by botanist Robert Brown in 1810, it is a widespread Tasmanian endemic that inhabits the state's mountain regions.
Celmisia saxifraga, commonly known as the small snow daisy, is a perennial herb in the Asteraceae family. It is native to Tasmania and Victoria, where it grows in alpine grasslands above the snowline.
Sprengelia distichophylla is a species of flowering plant in the heath family Ericaceae and is endemic to Tasmania. It is a tufted shrub that typically grows to a height of 51–76 mm (2.0–3.0 in) with leaves about 2 mm (0.079 in) long, arranged in two closely overlapping rows, with the bases sheathing the stem. The flowers are arranged singly in leaf axils and are white, about 5 mm (0.20 in) long and bell-shaped. Flowering occurs in summer.
Olearia tasmainca is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae and is endemic to Tasmania. It is a shrub that typically grows to a height of 1.0–1.5 m and has oblong to egg-shaped leaves with the narrower end towards the base, 19–40 mm (0.75–1.57 in) long and with a blunt tip. The heads or daisy-like "flowers" have up to 8 ray florets. Flowering mainly occurs in January and the fruit is a smooth achene.
The Hon. Rose Maud Talbot was an English-born Irish farmer and philanthropist, who emigrated to Tasmania, Australia.
Dennis Ivor Morris was a British-born Australian botanist.
Scleranthus fasciculatus, commonly known as spreading knawel, is a rare, spreading, non-woody herb found in the south-eastern states of Australia and introduced to New Zealand. The species is found in dry grassland habitats and requires the maintenance of inter-tussock spaces for its establishment and persistence. A number of anthropogenic factors have contributed to the species decline such as impacts from land clearing, road construction and maintenance, and herbicide application.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link){{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link){{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link){{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link){{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)