for the women who flew in the face of opposition. who often risked their lives to document plant species unknown to the western world. who worked tirelessly to document, press and preserve, only to have their names erased from History. this is the beginning of what I hope will be a long series to honor early women botanists and shine more light on their many contributions.
blind prickly pear
scarlet ladies tresses
havard stonecrop
veronica leaf brickelbush
potts mammilaria
turner thistle
She Was There
She was there
carefully gathering,
showing reverence,
honoring the land.
They dismissed her hand,
her presence,
denied her the title of Botanist,
denied her the honor and acknowledgement
of Naming or being Named.
She gathered specimens
quietly in the desert.
Scarlet Ladies Tresses,
Pott’s Mammillaria,
Nipple Cactus,
they’d come to be known
but not by her Naming
not reflecting her wisdom or
hours spent under the hot desert sun.
John Potts
John Bigelow
Jane Doe