Clara Christine Maria Wehl (née Mueller; 1833 – 31 July 1901) was a German-born Australian

botanist Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...

. She is known for her contributions to Australian botany through her scientific collections in Australia. The genus '' Wehlia'' and the species '' Gigartina wehliae'' are named in her honour.

Early life

Wehl was born in

Rostock Rostock (; Polabian language, Polabian: ''Roztoc''), officially the Hanseatic and University City of Rostock (), is the largest city in the German States of Germany, state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and lies in the Mecklenburgian part of the sta ...

Mecklenburg, now in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, in 1833. She was the daughter of Louise Mertens (1797–1840) and her husband Friedrich Müller (1794–1835), a customs official. Clara emigrated to South Australia in 1847 accompanied by her sister Bertha and brother

Ferdinand von Mueller Baron Sir Ferdinand Jacob Heinrich von Mueller, (; 30 June 1825 – 10 October 1896) was a German-Australian physician, geographer, and most notably, a botanist. He was appointed government botanist for the then colony of Victoria, Australia ...

. The family arrived in

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

on the

barque A barque, barc, or bark is a type of sailing ship, sailing vessel with three or more mast (sailing), masts of which the fore mast, mainmast, and any additional masts are Square rig, rigged square, and only the aftmost mast (mizzen in three-maste ...

Hermann Von Beckerath on 15 December 1847. They settled in Adelaide but moved to a property in the Bugle Ranges in 1848.

Botanical collecting

In 1848 Wehl collected botanical specimens in the Bugle Ranges. She also collected in the

Barossa Range The Barossa Range (Kaurna: ''Yampoori'') is a mountain range located in the Australian state of South Australia. Location The range is a part of the southern Mount Lofty Ranges and the western slopes primarily fall into the Barossa Valley. As ...

. In the beginning of 1853 Wehl moved with her brother and sister to Melbourne staying at what is now known as the Plant Craft Cottage in the Melbourne Botanic Gardens. After her marriage in October of that year, Wehl moved to

Mount Gambier Mount Gambier is the second most populated city in South Australia, with a population of 25,591 as of the 2021 census. The city is located on the slopes of Mount Gambier (volcano), Mount Gambier, a volcano in the south east of the state, about ...

. Her interest in botany and botanical collecting continued after her marriage. In particular, while residing at Mount Gambier, Wehl was interested in algae and other marine plants and collected in the Port Macdonnell and Rivoli Bay areas. She also collected at Lake Bonney. In around August 1873 Wehl moved with her family to Millicent. In 1866 Wehl sent algae specimens collected near

to her brother while he continue to reside at the Melbourne Botanic Gardens. Wehl's algae collecting and the specimens it generated, assisted the research of other botanists including

William Henry Harvey William Henry Harvey, FRS FLS (5 February 1811 – 15 May 1866) was an Irish botanist and phycologist who specialised in algae. Biography Harvey was born at Summerville near Limerick, Ireland, in 1811, the youngest of 11 children. His father ...

, Otto Sonder and Jacob Agardh. Wehl's algae specimens were used by Harvey in his publication '' Phycologia Australica''. Other specimens of Wehl's were forwarded to

George Bentham George Bentham (22 September 1800 – 10 September 1884) was an English botanist, described by the weed botanist Duane Isely as "the premier systematic botanist of the nineteenth century". Born into a distinguished family, he initially studie ...

to assist with his production of ''

Flora Australiensis ''Flora Australiensis: a description of the plants of the Australian Territory'', more commonly referred to as ''Flora Australiensis'', and also known by its standard abbreviation ''Fl. Austral.'', is a seven-volume Flora of Australia published b ...

''. Although not formally trained in botany, Wehl's botanical collecting extended over a period of at least 46 years from 1848 to 1894. Her collections are held at several institutions including at the

National Herbarium of Victoria The National Herbarium of Victoria (Index Herbariorum code: MEL) is one of Australia's earliest herbaria and the oldest scientific institution in Victoria. Its 1.56 million specimens of preserved plants, fungi and algae—collectively known ...

, the

Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle The French National Museum of Natural History ( ; abbr. MNHN) is the national natural history museum of France and a of higher education part of Sorbonne University. The main museum, with four galleries, is located in Paris, France, within the Ja ...

and the

Auckland War Memorial Museum The Auckland War Memorial Museum (), also known as Auckland Museum, is one of New Zealand's most important museums and war memorials. Its neoclassical architecture, neoclassical building constructed in the 1920s and 1950s, stands on Observatory ...

. Wehl also actively supported her brother Ferdinand's botanical work until his death in 1896, initially undertaking such activities as preparing his specimens and later by sending him her botanical collections.

Family

On 14 October 1853 at

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a city in the United States * Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...

, Wehl married her husband Eduard Wehl (1823–1876), a physician. During her marriage Wehl gave birth to 15 children, 12 of whom survived. At least three of these children would themselves become botanical collectors. Eduard died in 1876 causing financial hardship for Wehl. Her brother helped to support her and her children, including paying for some of the botanical specimens collected by them.

Honours

The genus '' Wehlia'' was named in honour of Wehl and her husband. The algae species '' Gigartina wehliae'' is also named in her honour.

Death

Wehl died at Millicent on 31 July 1901 aged 68. She is buried at section A plot 25N at the Millicent Cemetery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wehl, Clara Christine Maria 1833 births People from Rostock 1901 deaths 19th-century Australian botanists Australian women botanists German women botanists 19th-century German botanists German emigrants to Australia