Ethel Sarel Gepp facts for kids

Ethel Sarel Gepp (born August 21, 1864 – died April 6, 1922) was a clever scientist from England. She was a phycologist, which means she studied algae. Algae are simple plant-like living things, like seaweed. Ethel was especially known for her important work on a type of algae called Halimeda. She also published her work using her maiden name, Ethel Sarel Barton.

Her Early Life and Family

Ethel Sarel Barton was born in a place called Hampton Court Green in England. When she was about eight years old, her family moved to Sussex. In 1904, Ethel married Antony Gepp. He was also a scientist who studied marine plants, just like her!

What She Did as a Scientist

Ethel Gepp worked for important places like the British Museum (Natural History) and Kew Gardens. She collected many plant samples for them. She also wrote scientific papers for different journals. These papers shared her discoveries with other scientists. She used both her birth name, Ethel Sarel Barton, and her married name, Ethel Sarel Gepp, for her writings.

Studying Halimeda Algae

In 1900, Ethel started writing about a special kind of macroalgae called Halimeda. This algae was collected from a place called Funafuti Atoll in the South Pacific. Her studies showed that the way Halimeda was organized needed a big change. There were too many different names for the same types of Halimeda. Later that year, another phycologist named Anna Weber-van Bosse asked Ethel to study more Halimeda samples. These samples came from the Siboga Expedition to the Dutch Indies. This led to Ethel's very important book in 1901, called The Genus Halimeda. In this book, she made things much clearer. She reduced the number of Halimeda species from over twenty down to just seven! Other scientists praised her careful work, saying she solved a problem that had confused them for years.

Working with Her Husband

After Ethel married Antony Gepp in 1904, she started working with him on many projects. They wrote several scientific papers together. Ethel Gepp passed away in Torquay after being sick for a long time.

Some of Her Publications

Ethel wrote many scientific papers and books. Here are a few examples of her work:

Written by herself

• "Systematic and Structural Account of the Genus Turbinaria, Lamx" (1891)
• The Genus Halimeda (1901)
• "Antarctic Algae" (1905)

Written with Antony Gepp

• "Rhipidosiphon and Callipsygma" (1904)
• The Codiaceae of the Siboga Expedition (1911)
• Marine Algae of the Scottish National Antarctic Expedition (1912)