WEBINAR – Women in Florida Field Botany: 1872-1971

“Women in Florida Field Botany: 1872-1971” was originally broadcast live on July 15, 2026. View the recording above.

People like Alvan W. Chapman and John K. Small figure prominently in early Florida botany. Often overlooked are many women who made significant contributions in Florida field botany, such as Mary C. Reynolds, Eleanor Scull, Lucia McCulloch, Mary F. Baker, Lillian Arnold, Mary Agnes Chase, Helen Butts Correll, Ruth Schornherst Breen, Olga Lakela and others. This talk explores their work and brings them back into the story.

An elderly woman wearing glasses sits at a desk examining and organizing botanical specimens mounted on sheets of paper.
 Mary Agnes Chase (1869-1963), sitting at desk with specimens

Presenters:

Alan Franck is a botanist and educator at the University of Florida herbarium, within the Florida Museum of Natural History located in Gainesville, Florida. Previously, he worked at Florida International University in Miami, studying the local flora and fungi. He has also served as the director of the University of South Florida herbarium, which has a heavy concentration on the flora of Florida. He received his Ph.D. from the University of South Florida, where his dissertation studied the systematics of a rare cactus (Harrisia sp.) in Florida and the Caribbean. His research continues to focus primarily on the plant and fungal diversity of Florida and parts of the Caribbean.

A person in a black t-shirt and cap kneels next to a tall, thin cactus in a wooded area, holding a plastic bag.

Serenity Mettler is a bachelor’s student in botany at the University of Florida with a minor in UFTeach. She has been volunteering at the FLMNH Herbarium since 2025, with a focus on Herbarium history, and is currently studying Florida women in field botany. Serenity is passionate about science education, community outreach, and plant sciences.

A woman with long hair, wearing glasses, a green sweater, and jeans, kneels on grass holding a potted monstera plant in an outdoor garden with trees and shrubs.