Inez Clare Verdoorn facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Inez Clare Verdoorn
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| Born | 15 June 1896 |
| Died | 2 April 1989 (aged 92) |
| Known for | Major revisions of plant families and genera |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Botany, taxonomy |
| Institutions | Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew |
Inez Clare Verdoorn (born June 15, 1896 – died April 2, 1989) was a famous South African botanist and taxonomist. A botanist is a scientist who studies plants. A taxonomist is someone who organizes and names living things. Inez Verdoorn was known for her important work in classifying many plant groups.
She was also the niece of Eugene Nielen Marais, who was a lawyer, naturalist, poet, and writer.
Contents
Early Life and Career Start
Inez Verdoorn finished school in 1916 at Loreto Convent School in Pretoria. After working for a short time in a government office, she started her career in 1917. She became an assistant at a herbarium in the Division of Botany and Plant Pathology. A herbarium is like a library for dried plant samples.
Working at Kew Gardens
Between 1925 and 1927, Inez worked at Kew in England. This is a very famous botanic garden. She was a special officer who helped connect the South African National Herbarium with Kew.
Return to South Africa and Dedication
When she came back to Pretoria, Inez took charge of the herbarium. She was promoted to a Senior Professional Officer in 1944. Even though she reached retirement age in 1951, she loved her work too much to stop. She continued working as a temporary staff member until 1968. After that, she kept working as an unpaid researcher, showing her deep passion for plants.
Contributions to Botany
Inez Verdoorn wrote more than 200 articles and books about plants. Many of her important works appeared in scientific journals like Bothalia and Flowering Plants of Africa. She also contributed to the Flora of Southern Africa, which is a big collection of information about plants in that region.
When other scientists talk about plants she named or described, they use the short name I.Verd. to give her credit. This is a special way to recognize botanists for their discoveries.
Awards and Recognition
Inez Verdoorn received many honors for her hard work and discoveries:
- In 1952, she was given the Senior Capt. Scott Medal by the South African Biological Society.
- In 1957, she became the President of the South African Biological Society.
- In 1964, she was President of a section of the South African Association for the Advancement of Science.
- In 1967, the University of Natal gave her an honorary PhD degree. This means they recognized her great achievements, even without her doing a traditional PhD program.
Plants Named After Her
To honor her, several plants were named after Inez Verdoorn. These include the plant group Inezia (which is part of the daisy family), Aloe verdoorniae, Senecio verdoorniae, and Teclea verdoorniae. Also, Volume 28 of the Flowering Plants of Africa was specially dedicated to her.
She collected about 4,000 plant samples during her career. Many of these were collected with other famous botanists like Leslie Edward Wostall Codd, Robert Allen Dyer, Anna Amelia Obermeyer, and Herold Georg Wilhelm Johannes Schweickerdt. These collected samples are very important for studying plants today.
