Elizabeth Anne Brown (15 November 1956 – 17 November 2013) was a New Zealand-born Australian bryologist who primarily contributed to the

systematics Biological systematics is the study of the diversification of living forms, both past and present, and the relationships among living things through time. Relationships are visualized as evolutionary trees (synonyms: cladograms, phylogenetic tre ...

liverworts The Marchantiophyta () are a division of non-vascular land plants commonly referred to as hepatics or liverworts. Like mosses and hornworts, they have a gametophyte-dominant life cycle, in which cells of the plant carry only a single set of ge ...

Early life and education

Brown was born in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

, New Zealand, on 15 November 1956. Her father,

John Brown John Brown most often refers to: *John Brown (abolitionist) (1800–1859), American who led an anti-slavery raid in Harpers Ferry, Virginia in 1859 John Brown or Johnny Brown may also refer to: Academia * John Brown (educator) (1763–1842), Ir ...

(1928–2005), was a lecturer of plant physiology at the

University of Auckland , mottoeng = By natural ability and hard work , established = 1883; years ago , endowment = NZD $293 million (31 December 2021) , budget = NZD $1.281 billion (31 December 2021) , chancellor = Cecilia Tarrant , vice_chancellor = Dawn F ...

and a

Test cricket Test cricket is a form of first-class cricket played at international level between teams representing full member countries of the International Cricket Council (ICC). A match consists of four innings (two per team) and is scheduled to last fo ...

umpire. Her mother was Barbara Brown (, 1929–1998). After attending

Epsom Girls' Grammar School , motto_translation = ''Through difficulties to greatness.'' , coordinates = , type = State Single Sex Girls Secondary (Year 9–13) with Boarding Facilities , established = 12 February 1917 , MOE = 64 , principal = Lorraine Pound , colo ...

, she went on to study at the University of Auckland between 1975 and 1987. Her Master's and doctoral research, under the supervision of Dr John Braggins, focused on the

of the liverwort genera ''

Marchantia ''Marchantia'' is a genus of liverworts in the family Marchantiaceae and the order Marchantiales. The thallus of ''Marchantia'' shows differentiation into two layers: an upper photosynthetic layer with a well-defined upper epidermis with pore ...

'' and ''

Riccardia ''Riccardia'' is a plant genus in the liverwort family Aneuraceae. Species ''The Plant List'' and ''Tropicos'' recognise about 200 accepted species: A * '' Riccardia aberrans'' * '' Riccardia adglutinata'' * '' Riccardia aequicellular ...

'', respectively. The title of her 1987 doctoral thesis was ''Studies in the New Zealand Aneuraceae''.

Career and later life

In 1989, Brown moved to

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, Australia, to undertake a research fellowship at the

National Herbarium of New South Wales The National Herbarium of New South Wales was established in 1853. The Herbarium has a collection of more than 1.4 million plant specimens, making it the second largest collection of pressed, dried plant specimens in Australia,Thiers, B. ...

. In 1993, she was appointed as a scientific officer, and later as systematic bryologist in 2000. Brown was also a lecturer at both the University of New England and the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

. Additionally, she was an editor for the plant systematics journal '' Telopea''. Brown described several species of plant, including those from the '' Dracophyllum'', ''

Lissanthe ''Lissanthe'' is a genus of about 10 species of flowering plants in the family Ericaceae and is endemic to Australia. Plants in the genus ''Lissanthe'' are small, erect to spreading shrubs with egg-shaped to oblong leaves. Up to 17 Monoicy, bisex ...

'', and ''

'' genera. Brown died of

liver cancer Liver cancer (also known as hepatic cancer, primary hepatic cancer, or primary hepatic malignancy) is cancer that starts in the liver. Liver cancer can be primary (starts in liver) or secondary (meaning cancer which has spread from elsewhere to th ...

on 17 November 2013 at

Tahmoor, New South Wales Tahmoor is a small town in the Macarthur Region of New South Wales, Australia, in Wollondilly Shire. History Originally named Myrtle Creek, it was a farming area on the Great Southern Road, later named the Hume Highway. When the new Main So ...

, at the age of 57.

Selected works

Theses

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Journal articles

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Elizabeth 20th-century Australian botanists 1956 births 2013 deaths New Zealand emigrants to Australia University of Auckland alumni People educated at Epsom Girls' Grammar School Scientists from Auckland 21st-century Australian botanists 20th-century Australian women scientists