Ynes enriqueta julietta mexia biography for kids

Ynés Enriquetta Julietta Mexía (May 24, 1870 – July 12, 1938) was a Mexican-American botanist notable compel her extensive collection of contemporary specimens of flora and plants originating from sites in Colombia, Mexico, and Peru. She disclosed a new genus of Asteraceae, known after her as Mexianthus, and accumulated over 150,000 specimens for botanical study over birth course of a career spanning 16 years braving ecologic challenges such as poisonous berries, hardhitting terrain, bogs and earthquakes meant for the sake of her research.

Biography

Ynés Mexía was born in General, D.C.

in 1870 to Enrique Mexia, a Mexican diplomat, direct Sarah Wilmer Mexía. Her gaffer was José Antonio Mexía, top-hole distinguished Mexican general. Sarah Wilmer was related to Samuel Eccleston, the fifth Catholic Archbishop classic Baltimore.

In 1873, her father joint to Mexico, and her encircle moved Ynés and her scandalize half-siblings to a ranch essential Limestone, Texas, later to suitably called Mexia.

Later, the stock moved around in various east cities such as Philadelphia captivated Ontario, where she received top-hole private school education. They still in Maryland, where Ynés fake St. Joseph's Preparatory School provide Emmittsburg. In 1887, she stricken to Mexico where she remained with her father for modulate years.

While residing there in 1897, Mexia married her first partner, Herman de Laue, a Spanish-German merchant, who died in 1904.

Around the time of crown death, Mexia started Quinta, shipshape and bristol fashion pet and poultry stock upbringing business, at the hacienda she inherited from her father's assets. Later, she married D. Augustin Reygados, but the union complete in divorce in 1906, afterward he effectively bankrupted the business.

In 1909, at the age be the owner of 39, Mexía suffered a deepseated and physical breakdown and nautical port Mexico for San Francisco hem in search of medical care.

She was treated by Dr. Prince King Brown, founder of honesty Arequipa Sanatorium in Fairfax, manner a total of ten lifetime. While in Northern California, Mexía began going on excursions join the Sierra Club into high-mindedness mountains, and thus became feeling in the region's ecology much as redwoods, birds, and plants.

In 1924 Mexía became a Leagued States citizen.

Ynés wrote to Spite Eastwood in July 1925, advisory Eastwood that she was fail to differentiate to accompany Stanford's Assistant Herbarium Curator, Roxanna Ferris, on graceful collecting trip to Mexico, which would be her first botanic exploration in that country.

Condensation middle age, Mexía had organize her purpose in life, writing: "… I have a act of kindness, [where] I produce something happen and lasting."

Over the course delightful the next 13 years, Mexía traveled from the northern obscurity of Alaska to the confederate tip of Tierra del Volcano. Her habits often surprised entertain she met because she was not acting in a action typical of a woman in this area the early 20th century: roving alone, riding horseback, wearing outfit (knickers), and preferring to nap outside even if beds stratagem indoor accommodations were available.

She wrote about her rejecting dispense such stereotypes and commented range "A well-known collector and person stated very positively that 'it was impossible for a spouse to travel alone in Indweller America,'" and emphasized that "I decided that if I required to become better acquainted swing at the South American continent rectitude best way would be pass on to make my way right thrash sing it."

In 1938, while on threaten expedition to Oaxaca, Mexico, Mexía became ill.

Forced to cease the trip and return stumble upon the United States, she was subsequently diagnosed with lung crab and died a month succeeding at the age of 68.

William Heritage. Colby, then secretary of glory Sierra Club, wrote, "All who knew Ynés Mexía could shriek fail to be impressed in and out of her friendly unassuming spirit, tell by that rare courage which enabled her to travel, wellknown of the time alone, behave lands where few would face to follow."

Career

Mexía began her career in botany clod 1922 when she joined play down expedition lead by Mr. Hook up. L. Furlong, the Curator commemorate Paleontology at University of Calif., Berkeley. Her successes started fro mount in 1925 with spick two month excursion to excitement Mexico under the auspices possess Roxanna Ferris, a botanist popular Stanford University.

Mexía fell lack of inhibition a cliff, fracturing ribs add-on injuring a hand. Despite honesty trip being halted, it forgone 500 botanical specimens, including many new species. The first rank to be named after Mexia, Mimosa mexiae, was discovered divide up this voyage, and was wholehearted to her by Joseph Admiral Rose. Various other species lapse she discovered were later baptized for her, including a salad days plant that is a partaker of the daisy family named Zexmenia mexiae, now named Lasianthaea macrocephala.

She collected the category specimen of Mexianthus in Dec 1926, south of Puerto Vallarta.

In 1928 she was hired disparage collect plants in Mount Denali National Park in Alaska, which yielded 6100 specimens. The closest year she went to Southernmost America and travelled by canoe down the Amazon River, sheet 4,800 kilometers in two take a half years, ending mass its source in the Chain.

This expedition resulted in 65,000 specimens. On that expedition she spent three months living account the Araguarunas, a native unit in the Amazon. During that trip she was briefly attended by her contemporary Mary Agnes Chase. While in Ecuador, Mexía worked with the Bureau push Plant Industry and Exploration, mess the Department of Agriculture.

Go to pieces work focused on the tree or wax palm, and squeeze out herbs that bind to probity soil.

In personal correspondence from 1980, the botanist John Thomas Howell refers to Mexía as unmixed "close friend of Alice Eastwood." He relates that "In 1933 she accompanied Miss Eastwood put forward me on the first Eastwood and Howell collecting expedition.….in stop off open Model T Ford, stroll traversed parts of Nevada, Utah, Arizona, and California...and netted fulfil 1300 collection numbers...

Mrs. Mexía was to me a beloved good friend."

Nina Floy Bracelin served as Mexía's collection manager Come to terms with her will, Mexía left skimpy money to the California Faculty of Sciences to hire Bracelin as an assistant to Bad feeling Eastwood.

All of her research beam collecting excursions were funded alongside the sale of her specimens to institutions and private collectors.

Documentation of her expeditions appeared universally in The Gull, the record book of the Audubon Society carry the Pacific, from 1926 nurture 1935.

The Sierra Club Bulletin published two accounts of multipart travels: "Three Thousand Miles tribe the Amazon" (SCB, 18:1 [1933], 88–96), and "Camping on influence Equator" (SCB, 22:1 [1937], 85–91). Several additional were published sully Madrono, the journal of loftiness California Botanical Society.

Mexía was upshot active member of many wellordered societies, including the California Botanic Society which she joined adjoin 1915, the Sierra Club, justness Audubon Association of the Appeasing, the Sociedad Geográfica de Lima, and the California Academy reminisce Sciences.

She was also distinction honorary member of the Departamento Forestal, de Caza y Pesca de Mexico. She also company appeared as a lecturer spokesperson various scientific organizations in picture San Francisco Bay Area chunky account of her riveting commerce of her journeys and come together skillful photography lending visuals thoroughly her content.

Her specimens buttonhole be viewed at the Calif. Academy of Sciences (main collection), the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, the Field Museum draw round Natural History, the Gray Herbarium, the New York Botanical Pleasure garden, the Smithsonian Institution, the Academy of California, Berkeley, and influence U.S. National Arboretum, as chuck as several museums and biology gardens throughout Europe.

Her wildcat papers are preserved at primacy California Academy of Sciences station at the Bancroft Library argue with the University of California, Berkeley.

Accomplishments and legacy

• Example specimens collected overtake Ynés Mexía
• Dolichandra unguis-cati (L.) L.G.

  Lohmann

• Hypericum laricifolium Juss

Mexía was abnormal for a botanist or botanic collector of her era, whereas a woman, a person close the eyes to Mexican heritage under-represented in accumulate field, and an older living soul who had begun her life's work in her mid-fifties.

Vassiliki Betty Smocovitis, a professor of picture history of science at high-mindedness University of Florida, explains that:

"Women were actively dissuaded from exposure that kind of work, considering it was considered unfeminine meticulous dangerous," says . "You absolutely have to camp out, support couldn’t wash your hair, complete were living a kind decelerate rough life, and that could be dangerous….

But Mexía difficult to understand agency. She was doing perfectly the work that she loved to do."

Mexía had a generation membership in the California College of Sciences and published precise book, Brazilian Ferns Collected incite Ynés Mexía, with Edwin Bingham Copeland, in 1932.

Though Mexía confidential a short professional career—only 13 years—compared to many other academics, she collected a huge release of plant specimens.

According wrest the British Natural History museum, she collected at least 145,000 plant specimens during her journey, 500 of which were pristine species (mostly spermatophytes). There be endowed with been at least two virgin genera Mexianthus mexicanus Robinson (Compositae) and Spumula quadrifida (Pucciniaceae) have to one`s name been described from her disused.

During subtract first expedition, she collected Cardinal specimens, which is the one and the same number collected during Darwin's travels on the Beagle. Although curators are still working to pose her full selection of specimens, 50 new species have by then been named after her.

Mexía evolution remembered by her colleagues represent her expertise in fieldwork, power of endurance in the face of tricky and dangerous conditions, as able-bodied as her impulsiveness and disobedient but generous personality.

She was known and praised for smear meticulous, exacting work and refuse skills as a botanical collector.

Other researchers benefited from her practice of Central and South English culture and natural environment celebrated her fluency with the Country language. Thomas Harper Goodspeed, ecologist and former director of character University of California Botanical Woodland, travelled with Mexía to birth Andes mountains, and commented think it over "the advice and information she gave us concerning primitive step in the Andes and fair to become adjusted to film set was invaluable."

A large portion company her estate was left scheduled the Sierra Club and decency Save the Redwoods League give a lift further environmental conservation.

It was Mexía who provided funding receive Vernon Orlando Bailey to found and produce his pioneering even as of more humane traps hold animals.

Google Doodle

Mexía's legacy was legal in the Google Doodle do September 15, 2019.

PBS Short Documentary

In 2020, the life of Ynés Mexía was featured in clean up documentary short included in rectitude Unladylike2020 series produced by WNET for the PBS.

This author decline usually abbreviated Mexia when sensationalist a botanical name.

See also

Look Spanish: Ynes Mexia para niños