Carolyn Wilson Harris (December 8, 1849 – May 3, 1910) was vice president of the Sullivant Moss Society during 1904–1905 and charge of the

Lichen A lichen ( , ) is a hybrid colony (biology), colony of algae or cyanobacteria living symbiotically among hypha, filaments of multiple fungus species, along with yeasts and bacteria embedded in the cortex or "skin", in a mutualism (biology), m ...

Department from 1901 to 1905. She also wrote many articles on various lichen

genera Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family as used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In binomial nomenclature, the genus name forms the first part of the binomial s ...

and

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

. She was known for being an indefatigable worker, and did much to popularize the study of lichens; her help was always given freely and cheerfully to those who applied to her for assistance in their studies.

Early life

Harris was born Carolyn Wilson in Springfield,

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

. Around 1885, Harris and her husband purchased land on Chilson Lake, in Essex County,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

Career

The Sullivant Moss Society

Harris was an active member of the Sullivant Moss Chapter, originally formed as a Moss Chapter of the Agassiz Association, and founded by Abel Joel Grout and Elizabeth Gertrude Knight Britton, and eventually renamed the Sullivant Moss Society. Harris contributed new plants to the Society from around Chilson Lake and helped to determine the classification of other members' submissions. She served as organizer and first head of the Society's Lichen Department from 1901 to 1905, and its Vice-President from 1904-1905. She donated many specimens to the Society's lichen

herbarium A herbarium (plural: herbaria) is a collection of preserved plant biological specimen, specimens and associated data used for scientific study. The specimens may be whole plants or plant parts; these will usually be in dried form mounted on a sh ...

. The Sullivant Moss Chapter is now known as the

American Bryological and Lichenological Society The American Bryological and Lichenological Society is an organization devoted to the scientific study of all aspects of the biology of bryophytes and lichen-forming fungi and is one of the nation's oldest botanical organizations. It was original ...

''The Bryologist''

Harris was the first to publish about lichens in ''

The Bryologist ''The Bryologist'' is a peer reviewed scientific journal specializing in bryology. It is published quarterly by the American Bryological and Lichenological Society (ABLS). It began as a department of '' The Fern Bulletin'' devoted to the study o ...

'', a scientific journal devoted primarily to mosses, which was edited by Abel Joel Grout and Annie Morrill Smith. Harris published a series of 12 papers on lichens (see Publications), which provided beginners with an overview of their

physiology Physiology (; ) is the science, scientific study of function (biology), functions and mechanism (biology), mechanisms in a life, living system. As a branches of science, subdiscipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ syst ...

and directions on how to identify and distinguish them from

moss Mosses are small, non-vascular plant, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic phylum, division Bryophyta (, ) ''sensu stricto''. Bryophyta (''sensu lato'', Wilhelm Philippe Schimper, Schimp. 1879) may also refer to the parent group bryo ...

es. With careful textual descriptions, illustrations, and photographs, Harris hoped to describe lichens well enough that they could be recognized with a simple hand lens.

Personal life

Harris was married to Isaac Harris (1838–1907) of

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, New York. They had one son, Wilson Park Harris. In 1905, Harris contracted a serious illness which prevented her from continuing her work with the Sullivan Moss Society. She died of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

on May 3, 1910, in

Lakewood, New Jersey Lakewood Township is the most populous township in Ocean County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. A rapidly growing community, as of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 135,158, its highest decennial count ever and ...

Works and publications

''Note'': Those marked with an (*) were published anonymously * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Carolyn Wilson American lichenologists 1849 births 1910 deaths Deaths from pneumonia in New Jersey American bryologists People from Springfield, Ohio Women bryologists Women lichenologists Scientists from Ohio American women botanists American botanists