Anne Mary Perceval (née Flower; 14 January 1790 – 23 November 1876) was an English botanist and author in Lower Canada from 1810–28.[1]
Perceval was born in London,[2] the daughter of Sir Charles Flower, Lord Mayor of London from 1808–09, and his wife, Anne Squire. Her father was created a baronet in 1809.[3]
She married Michael Henry Perceval and came to Quebec City in 1810 when her husband was named customs collector. In 1815, with her husband, she acquired Spencer Wood, where she established an important garden of native plants. She identified about 150 species of plants from her collection to William Jackson Hooker, who included them in his Flora boreali-americana, or, the botany of the northern parts of British America. She also corresponded with botanist John Torrey.[4][5]
She returned to Britain in 1828 following the death of her husband and died at Lews Castle, Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis at the age of 86.[4][6][5]
Plants which she collected are included in Canadian and American natural history collections,[4] as well as collections in Paris and London.[5]
References
edit- ^ Desmond, Ray (1994). Dictionary Of British And Irish Botanists And Horticulturists Including plant collectors, flower painters and garden designers. CRC Press. p. 546. ISBN 0850668433.
- ^ 1861 England Census
- ^ Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerage and Baronetage of the British Empire. Burke's Peerage Limited. 1830. p. 292. Retrieved 26 July 2024.
- ^ a b c Ogilvie, Marilyn Bailey; Harvey, Joy Dorothy (2000). The Biographical Dictionary of Women in Science: L-Z. Taylor & Francis. p. 1004. ISBN 041592040X.
- ^ a b c Shteir, Ann; Cayouette, Jacques (2019). "Collecting with "botanical friends": Four Women in Colonial Quebec and Newfoundland" (PDF). Scientia Canadensis. 41 (1): 9–13. doi:10.7202/1056314ar.
- ^ O’Donnell, Brendan (17 August 1985). "Anne Mary Perceval (1790-1876): An Early Botanical Collector in Lower Canada". Bibliography on English-speaking Quebec. 1 (1): 7–13.