Maura Scannell facts for kids

Mary J. P. "Maura" Scannell (1924–2011) was a very important Irish scientist who studied plants. She was known as a leading botanist, which means she was an expert in the plant world.

Maura's Amazing Career

Maura Scannell started her career in 1949. She became an Assistant Keeper in the Natural History section of the National Museum of Ireland. She was especially interested in the plants that grew in Ireland, both now and a long time ago.

Plant Detective Work

Maura was incredibly skilled at identifying different types of wood and charcoal. This special skill helped her figure out what materials were used to make old Irish harps in the National Museum. She also identified plant pieces found at ancient archaeological sites.

The Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland praised her work. They called her an "inspiration" because she knew so much about seeds, plant fibers, and even tiny fungi and algae.

Moving the National Herbarium

In 1970, Maura helped move the National Herbarium. A herbarium is like a huge library of dried plant specimens. This important collection moved from the National Museum in central Dublin to the National Botanic Gardens in Glasnevin.

Maura was also an active member of the Irish committee for the Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland for many years. She even helped judge the Irish Young Scientists Exhibition, which is a competition for young people interested in science. One of her biggest contributions was helping other people fall in love with studying plants.

She was the Head of the National Herbarium until she retired in 1989. But even after retiring, she kept writing, exploring plants in nature, and visiting the Herbarium.

Maura's Lasting Impact

Maura Scannell had a huge amount of knowledge about plants, especially those in Ireland and the Herbarium's collection. Her expertise helped many other scientists. For example, she provided information about a rare Irish tree called Salix hibernica, showing it was in Ireland much earlier than thought. She also identified reeds in an old painting, which helped identify it as an important Irish landscape artwork.

She contributed to over 200 scientific publications and books. She also collected a huge number of plant specimens and field records for the National Herbarium. These collections are among the largest ever made by any botanist.

In 2008, a brand new plant species was named after her! It's called Sorbus scannelliana, also known as Maura Scannell's Whitebeam. This shows how much her work was valued.

Selected Publications

• Scannell, MJP and Synnott, DM (1989) Sources for the Census Catalogue of the Flora of Ireland National Botanic Gardens, Ireland.
• Webb, DA and Scannell, MJP (1983) Flora of Connemara and the Burren. Royal Dublin Society And Cambridge University Press, ISBN: 9780521233958
• Scannell, MJP (1972) Census Catalogue of the Flora in Ireland Paperback. Stationery Office.
• Scannell, Mary J.P. and Synott, Donal M. 1972 Consus Catalogue of the Flora of Ireland. Dublin Stationery Office