Anna Russell (botanist) facts for kids

Anna (Worsley) Russell (born November 1807 – died 11 November 1876) was a very skilled British botanist. People have said she was one of the best and most important women botanists of her time. She spent her life studying plants, especially fungi.

About Anna Russell

Anna was born in November 1807 in a place called Arnos Vale, Bristol. She was one of at least seven children. Her father, Philip John Worsley, worked with sugar. Her family belonged to a Christian group called Unitarians. Many in her family were interested in science.

When Anna was a child, her family encouraged her love for natural history. At first, she studied entomology (which is the study of insects). Later, she became very interested in plants. Anna's brother-in-law, Thomas Butler, was a church leader near Nottingham. He was also very keen on botany. He might have helped Anna choose to study plants too.

Her Work and Discoveries

In 1835, a book called New Botanist's Guide was published. Anna helped a lot with the first part of this book. She made a list of all the flowering plants she found near Bristol. This made more people notice her work.

In 1839, Anna published her own book. It was called Catalogue of Plants, found in the Neighbourhood of Newbury. This book was thirty-one pages long. It included the first records of over sixty different plant types found in Berkshire. This meant she was the first to find and write about these plants in that area.

Soon after, Anna joined the Botanical Society of London. She actively helped by swapping plant samples with other scientists. She also became very interested in moss and fungi.

Later Life and Legacy

Anna Worsley married Frederick Russell in 1844. Frederick was also a Unitarian and a botanist. They had been friends for many years. Frederick often went with Anna on her plant-finding trips. He even collected some plant samples for her.

First, they lived in Brislington, which is near Bristol. But in 1856, they moved to Kenilworth in Warwickshire. Anna continued her studies there. She focused on the fungi in the local area. She wrote an article about rare local fungi for the Journal of Botany. She also made more than seven hundred and thirty drawings of fungi.

Anna Russell passed away in Kenilworth on 11 November 1876. Her husband had died before her, and they did not have any children. She left her amazing drawings to the British Museum (Natural History). You can still find them there today. She also left her collection of dried plants (called a herbarium) and her bird egg collection to the Birmingham and Midland Institute.

See also

In Spanish: Anna Russell para niños