Louisa Bolus facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Harriet Margaret Louisa Bolus
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| Born | 31 July 1877 Burgersdorp, Cape Province, South Africa
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| Died | 5 April 1970 (aged 92) |
| Nationality | South African |
| Education | Collegiate Girls' High School, Port Elizabeth |
| Alma mater | South African College (B.A.) |
| Awards | Fellow of the Royal Society of South Africa |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Botany |
| Institutions | Bolus Herbarium |
| Author abbrev. (botany) | Kensit L.Bolus |
Harriet Margaret Louisa Bolus (born Kensit) was a famous South African botanist. She was born on 31 July 1877 in Burgersdorp and passed away on 5 April 1970 in Cape Town. Louisa Bolus was a taxonomist, which means she named and classified plants.
She worked for a long time as the curator of the Bolus Herbarium, starting in 1903. A herbarium is like a library for dried plant specimens. Louisa Bolus holds an amazing record: she named more land plant species than any other female scientist, identifying a total of 1,494 new species!
Contents
Early Life and Learning
Louisa Bolus was born in Burgersdorp, Cape Province, South Africa. Her parents, William and Jane Stuart Kensit, were both from Britain. Her grandfather, William Kensit, was also very interested in plants. He was an amateur botanist and collected many plant samples.
Louisa went to Collegiate Girls' High School in Port Elizabeth. After school, she earned a teaching certificate in 1899. In 1902, she received a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree in literature and philosophy from the University of the Cape of Good Hope.
A Career in Botany
While she was still in college, Louisa worked as an assistant. She helped Harry Bolus, who was her great-aunt Sophia's husband, in his plant collection (herbarium).
In June 1913, she helped start the Botanical Society of South Africa. She was also a founding member of the Wild Life Protection Society. Louisa was a respected member of several important groups, including the Royal Society of South Africa and the Linnean Society of London.
In 1903, Louisa Bolus became the curator of the Bolus Herbarium. She held this important position until she retired in 1955. During her time there, she hired a talented botanical artist named Louise Guthrie to draw plants.
Louisa's Published Works
Louisa Bolus wrote many books and articles about plants. Her first book, Elementary Lessons in Systematic Botany, came out in 1919. She then wrote two more books about South African flowers. She also wrote for many botanical journals and edited the Annals of the Bolus Herbarium.
Louisa spent a lot of her life studying a group of plants called Mesembryanthemum. These are often known as vygies or ice plants. In 1927, she published Notes on Mesembryanthemum and Allied Genera. She followed this with three more books. These books described about 1,500 plants in detail, using Latin names.
In 1936, the University of Stellenbosch gave Louisa an honorary Doctorate of Science degree. This was a special award to recognise her amazing work.
Contributions and Recognition
A plant genus (a group of related plants) called Kensitia was named after Louisa's original family name, Kensit. This was to honour her important work on the Mesembreyanthemum family.
Louisa Bolus also helped with other important plant publications. She contributed to Flowering Plants of South Africa in 1943. In 1951, she supported the publication of Wild Flowers of the Cape of Good Hope.
She was also a pioneer in teaching nature study classes at the Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden. In 1966, she became the vice president of the African Succulent Plant Society.
Louisa focused her studies on the plants found around the Cape of Good Hope. She was especially interested in Ericaceae (like heaths) and Orchidaceae (orchids). Besides her scientific articles, she wrote popular gardening articles and books, including A Book of South African Flora.
In 1920, she became a Fellow of the Royal Society of South Africa. The plant genus Bolusanthus and the species Geissorhiza louisabolusiae are named in her honour.
Personal Life
In 1912, Louisa Kensit married Frank Bolus. Frank was Harry Bolus's son and also her father's cousin. Sadly, Frank Bolus passed away in 1945, and Louisa became a widow. Louisa Bolus lived a long life and died at her home in Claremont, Cape Town in 1970, at the age of 93.
See also
- Harriet Margaret Louisa Bolus for children (This links to the Spanish Kiddle article about her)
