Libby Houston facts for kids

Libby Houston was born in 1941. She is an English poet and a botanist. A botanist is a scientist who studies plants. Libby Houston grew up in North London. She has written many poetry books.

Libby Houston works at the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Bristol. She has found several new types of whitebeam trees. One of these trees is even named after her! She is also part of the Avon Gorge & Downs Wildlife Project. This project helps protect nature.

In 2012, Libby Houston received the H. H. Bloomer Award. This award is from the Linnean Society of London. It recognized her important work in natural history. She helped us learn more about whitebeam trees in Britain. She also studied the plants, or flora, of Avon Gorge in Bristol, England. In 2018, she won the Marsh Botany Award. This award honored her amazing work in botany over her lifetime.

Libby Houston's Early Life

Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford

Libby Houston was born Elizabeth Maynard Houston. She was born in North London, England. She grew up in the West Country area. She went to Lady Margaret Hall at the University of Oxford.

In 1966, she married Malcolm Dean in Somerset. He was an artist and musician. Libby Houston published her first poetry book, A Stained Glass Raree Show, in 1967. She wrote more books like Plain Clothes (1971) and At the Mercy (1980). Other books include Necessity (1988), A Little Treachery (1990), and All Change (1993). She also appeared on BBC radio shows for children starting in the early 1970s.

Her first husband passed away in 1974. She married Roderick Jewell in 1979. That same year, she moved to Bristol. Libby Houston earned a science biology certificate from the University of Bristol.

Plant Discoveries at Bristol University

In 2012, Libby Houston was a research assistant at the University of Bristol. She helped Lewis Frost study the plants in Avon Gorge. Her amazing rock-climbing skills were very helpful. She could reach plants like spiked speedwell and Bristol rockcress on the cliffs. Later, she worked with Simon Hiscock and Tim Rich. They studied the whitebeam trees in Avon Gorge.

Houston's Whitebeam (Sorbus x houstoniae), a mix of Common Whitebeam (Sorbus aria) and Bristol Whitebeam (Sorbus bristoliensis)

In 2005, she found a new type of whitebeam tree on a cliff in the Avon Gorge. This new tree was named Houston's Whitebeam (Sorbus x houstoniae). It is a mix of the Common Whitebeam (Sorbus aria) and the Bristol Whitebeam (Sorbus bristoliensis). Only one of these rare trees has been found. It can only be reached by using ropes.

Houston's Whitebeam was one of 14 new whitebeam trees. They were officially named in 2009 in a science journal called Watsonia. Five of these new trees were found in Bristol. Libby Houston also explored the Wye Valley. There, she found three more new whitebeam trees.

Libby Houston is a member of several groups. These include the Bristol Naturalists' Society and the Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. She is also part of the Somerset Rare Plants Group. In April 2012, she took part in an exhibition in Bristol. It celebrated the 150th birthday of the Bristol Naturalists' Society. She also helped with the Avon Gorge & Downs Wildlife Project. This project started in 1999. It works to protect the Avon Gorge and teach people about its importance.

Awards and Recognition

In 2012, Libby Houston received the H. H. Bloomer Award. The Linnean Society of London gives this award. It honored her contributions to natural history. This included her work on the plants of the Avon Gorge and British whitebeam trees. This silver medal is given to a person who studies nature as a hobby. It recognizes their important discoveries in biology.

In 2018, she received the Marsh Botany Award. This award recognized her great knowledge of the plants in the Avon Gorge. It especially highlighted her work on the Sorbus species, which are whitebeam trees.