Edith Adelaide Roberts (18811977) was an American botanist studying
plant physiology
Plant physiology is a subdiscipline of botany concerned with the functioning, or physiology, of plants. Closely related fields include plant morphology (structure of plants), plant ecology (interactions with the environment), phytochemistry (bi ...
and a pioneer in
plant ecology. She created the first ecological laboratory in the United States, promoted
natural landscaping
Natural landscaping, also called native gardening, is the use of native plants and adapted species, including trees, shrubs, groundcover, and grasses which are local to the geographic area of the garden.
Benefits
Maintenance
Natural landsc ...
along with
Elsa Rehmann, and proved that plants were the main source of
vitamin A
Vitamin A is a fat-soluble vitamin and an essential nutrient for humans. It is a group of organic compounds that includes retinol, retinal (also known as retinaldehyde), retinoic acid, and several provitamin A carotenoids (most notably bet ...
.
Education and academic career
Edith A. Roberts was born on April 28, 1881, into a farmer's family in
Rollinsford, New Hampshire
Rollinsford is a town in Strafford County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 2,597 at the 2020 census. The main village in town was once known as "Salmon Falls Village".
History
The area was once within the domain of the Newichawa ...
. Roberts earned her
Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...
degree at
Smith College
Smith College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts. It was chartered in 1871 by Sophia Smith (Smith College ...
in 1905, followed by a
Master of Science
A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast to ...
degree at the
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...
in 1911. Her
doctoral thesis, submitted at the University of Chicago, was in
plant physiology
Plant physiology is a subdiscipline of botany concerned with the functioning, or physiology, of plants. Closely related fields include plant morphology (structure of plants), plant ecology (interactions with the environment), phytochemistry (bi ...
.
Roberts worked as instructor to an
associate professor
Associate professor is an academic title with two principal meanings: in the North American system and that of the ''Commonwealth system''.
Overview
In the ''North American system'', used in the United States and many other countries, it is a ...
at
Mount Holyoke College
Mount Holyoke College is a private liberal arts women's college in South Hadley, Massachusetts. It is the oldest member of the historic Seven Sisters colleges, a group of elite historically women's colleges in the Northeastern United States.
...
from 1915 to 1917, when she was employed by the
United States Department of Agriculture
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the United States federal executive departments, federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, rural economic development, ...
as an extension worker. She traveled throughout all
48 states
The contiguous United States (officially the conterminous United States) consists of the 48 adjoining U.S. states and the Federal District of the United States of America. The term excludes the only two non-contiguous states, Alaska and Hawaii ...
on a mission to educate women on managing farms in place of men who were fighting in
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. In an interview, she said that "all women
ho are
Ho (or the transliterations He or Heo) may refer to:
People Language and ethnicity
* Ho people, an ethnic group of India
** Ho language, a tribal language in India
* Hani people, or Ho people, an ethnic group in China, Laos and Vietnam
* Hiri Mo ...
going to run a family should have plant science. It is basic to living." Roberts worked for the USDA until 1919, when she was offered the position of associate professor of botany at
Vassar College
Vassar College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar, it was the second degree-granting institution of higher education for women in the United States, closely follo ...
. By 1921, she was a
full professor
Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professors ...
and chairman of the Plant Science Department. Roberts was recognized by her colleagues for her research in
plant physiology
Plant physiology is a subdiscipline of botany concerned with the functioning, or physiology, of plants. Closely related fields include plant morphology (structure of plants), plant ecology (interactions with the environment), phytochemistry (bi ...
, native
plant propagation, and
seed germination
Germination is the process by which an organism grows from a seed or spore. The term is applied to the sprouting of a seedling from a seed of an flowering plant, angiosperm or gymnosperm, the growth of a sporeling from a spore, such as the spor ...
. She belonged to the
Botanical Society of America
The Botanical Society of America (BSA) represents professional and amateur botanists, researchers, educators and students in over 80 countries of the world. It functions as a United States nonprofit 501(c)(3) membership society.
History
The soci ...
, the
American Forestry Association, and the
American Association for the Advancement of Science
The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is an American international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific respons ...
.
Plant ecology
Roberts was a pioneer in the newly emerging science of
plant ecology. In 1920, Vassar College granted four acres of land for the realization of her idea of an outdoor botanical laboratory. Situated in the
Dutchess County
Dutchess County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 295,911. The county seat is the city of Poughkeepsie. The county was created in 1683, one of New York's first twelve counties, and later organ ...
, this was the first ecological laboratory in the United States. Roberts strove to arrange the plants in
correct associations and with proper environmental conditions. As the project did not receive enough funds from the college, Roberts had to partly finance it herself by giving outside lectures. The number of native species grown in the laboratory eventually reached 2,000.
Landscape architect
Elsa Rehmann, also employed by Vassar College, interpreted the results of Roberts' research in the context of
garden design
Garden design is the art and process of designing and creating plans for layout and planting of gardens and landscapes. Garden design may be done by the garden owner themselves, or by professionals of varying levels of experience and expertise. ...
. They published their findings first in articles for the magazine ''
House Beautiful'' and then in a 1929 book titled ''American Plants for American Gardens'', becoming early advocates of
natural landscaping
Natural landscaping, also called native gardening, is the use of native plants and adapted species, including trees, shrubs, groundcover, and grasses which are local to the geographic area of the garden.
Benefits
Maintenance
Natural landsc ...
. In 1935, Roberts published ''American Ferns: How to Know, Grow and Use Them''.
Plant physiology
Roberts retired from Vassar College in 1948, and became guest scientist at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...
. At MIT, Roberts consulted its department of
food technology
Food technology is a branch of food science that deals with the production, preservation, quality control and research and development of the food products.
Early scientific research into food technology concentrated on food preservation. Nic ...
, researching plants as vitamin sources. In 1948, she presented a paper, coauthored with
Mildred Southwick, proving that
vitamin A
Vitamin A is a fat-soluble vitamin and an essential nutrient for humans. It is a group of organic compounds that includes retinol, retinal (also known as retinaldehyde), retinoic acid, and several provitamin A carotenoids (most notably bet ...
could be obtained from young green and yellow plant parts and not mainly from
fish liver oils.
Legacy
After Roberts' retirement, the
Dutchess County Outdoor Ecological Laboratory was maintained for a few more years but soon fell into neglect. By the 1960s, it was abandoned, and her books have gone out of print. She died in March 1977. The remnants of the laboratory were unexpectedly discovered by biologist
Margaret Ronsheim, also a professor at Vassar College, in the 1990s. The laboratory is now under reconstruction.
References
Bibliography
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Roberts, Edith A.
1881 births
1977 deaths
People from Rollinsford, New Hampshire
American women botanists
20th-century American botanists
American ecologists
Women ecologists
Plant ecologists
Plant physiologists
Scientists from New Hampshire
Smith College alumni
University of Chicago alumni
Botanical Society of America
Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
Vassar College faculty
Massachusetts Institute of Technology people
American women academics
Mount Holyoke College faculty
20th-century American women scientists