Joan Cribb facts for kids

Joan Winifred Cribb (born Herbert; 14 April 1930 – 17 October 2023) was an Australian scientist. She was a botanist, meaning she studied plants. She was also a mycologist, which means she studied fungi.

Life and Discoveries

Joan Winifred Herbert was born in Brisbane, Australia. Her parents, Vera and Desmond Herbert, were also botanists. This means they studied plants too!

Joan went to the University of Queensland. There, she earned two important science degrees. In 1954, she married Alan Cribb, who was also a botanist. Later, she started working at the University of Queensland. She taught students part-time.

Studying Fungi

Joan Cribb became an expert in a special type of fungi called gasteroid fungi. These fungi often have their spores inside a ball-like shape. She discovered and described 21 new types of these fungi!

She also found 14 new types of marine fungi. These are fungi that live in the ocean. For over 45 years, Joan traveled all over Queensland, Australia. She was always looking for and recording gasteroid fungi.

Joan and her husband also studied fungi that live on algae in the ocean. They even found freshwater fungi in Queensland's rivers and waterways.

Awards and Recognition

Joan Cribb received important awards for her work. In 1994, she was given the Australian Natural History Medallion. This award celebrates people who have done great things in natural history.

In 2020, she received the Medal of the Order of Australia. This was for her important work as a botanist in education and for helping the community.

Joan Cribb passed away on 17 October 2023, when she was 93 years old.

Her Legacy

To honor her work, a group of fungi was named after her. This group is called Cribbea. Also, some specific types of fungi were named after her, like Hymenogaster cribbiae and Stephanospora cribbae.