Mary Leebody
Mary Leebody | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1847 Portaferry, County Down, Ireland |
| Died | 19 September 1911 (aged 64) |
| Nationality | Irish |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Botany |
Mary Isabella Leebody (or Mary Elizabeth Leebody; 1847–1911) was an Irish botanist, known for her work on the flora of County Londonderry and County Donegal. Leebody discovered a number of rare plants in Ireland, including the orchid Spiranthes romanzoffiana and Teesdalia nudicaulis, the common shepherd's-cress. Leebody was also known for her encouragement of other botanists.
Life
[edit]Mary Leebody was born in Portaferry, County Down around 1847. She is sometimes known as Mary Elizabeth Leebody, and in other sources Mary Isabella Leebody.[1][2] About 1867, she married mathematician Professor John Robinson Leebody of Foyle College, Derry, living the rest of her life in the city.[3][4] Leebody died in Derry on 19 September 1911.[5][6]
Botanical work
[edit]Known as a diligent field botanist, Leebody's work focused on Counties Antrim, Londonderry, and Donegal. Leebody's most active years were between 1893 and 1904, and she was an acquaintance of Robert Lloyd Praeger.[4] She was an active member of the Belfast Naturalists' Field Club, rarely missing a field trip.[2][6] She was also known for encouraging other people to take up botany,[2] although she did not take up Praeger's idea of setting up a Derry Naturalists' Field Club. During the 1890s she collaborated with Praeger and Matilda Cullen Knowles, contributing many of the Derry plant material for Praeger's 1895 The Flora of the North-east of Ireland supplement.[2]
Leebody is credited with adding a number of new Irish records, including American orchid Spiranthes romanzoffiana,[7] in 1893, marking the beginning of her published work. This find was notable as it increased the recorded range for the rare species.[2] Other records she published were Dryas octopetala on Muckish, Teesdalia nudicaulis on Lough Neagh, and Liparis loeselii on Slieve Snaght.[1][3][6]
References
[edit]- ^ a b Ogilvie, Marilyn Bailey; Harvey, Joy Dorothy (2000). The Biographical Dictionary of Women in Science: L-Z. London: Routledge. p. 765. ISBN 9780415920407.
- ^ a b c d e Creese, Mary R. S.; Creese, Thomas M. (2004). Ladies in the Laboratory 2. Oxford: Scarecrow Press. p. 44. ISBN 9780810849792.
- ^ a b Praeger, Robert Lloyd (1949). Some Irish Naturalists: A Biographical Notebook. Dundalk: Dundalgan Press. Archived from the original on 23 January 2015. Retrieved 28 May 2015.
- ^ a b Hackney, Paul; Morton, Osborne; Tyrie, Catherine. "The Herbarium of the National Museum and Galleries of Northern Ireland". Ulster Museum. Archived from the original on 26 August 2015. Retrieved 28 May 2015.
- ^ Desmond, Ray (1994). Dictionary Of British And Irish Botantists And Horticulturalists Including plant collectors, flower painters and garden designers. London: Taylor & Francis. p. 422. ISBN 9780850668438.
- ^ a b c Praeger, Robert Lloyd (1911). "Mary Isabella Leebody". The Irish Naturalist. 20 (12): 218.
- ^ Lysaght, Sean (1997). "Contrasting Natures: The Issue of Names". In Foster, John Wilson; Chesney, Helena C.G. (eds.). Nature in Ireland: A Scientific and Cultural History. Dublin: The Lilliput Press. p. 450. ISBN 9780773518179.