Eileen Alice Willa (1905–1999) was a New Zealand botanical collector, museum curator and writer. She was born Eileen Harrison on Stewart Island, and grew up with a love of botany. In 1928, she married Percy Willa and they settled at Halfmoon Bay, Stewart Island. While Percy fished, she explored and collected plants. In 1943, Victor Lindauer, a New Zealand algae collector, asked her to collect seaweeds from Stewart Island, to help him in his work. She sent many specimens, and from this time she started collecting seaweeds (as well as land plants). Like Lindauer, she too, hosted scientific teams visiting her home (Stewart Island). Three species of seaweed honour Eileen Willa: '' Ptilonia willana'' (found at

Port Pegasus Port Pegasus, officially Port Pegasus / Pikihatiti, (formerly South Port) is at the southern end of Stewart Island in New Zealand. From the 1890s to the 1950s, Port Pegasus was the site of a small fishing community. There was also a small tin ...

in 1945), the large brown kelp, ''

Durvillaea willana ''Durvillaea willana'' is a large species of southern bull kelp endemic to New Zealand. Etymology The species epithet, ''willana'', honours Eileen Alice Willa who collected many algal species for Lindauer. Description This species is chocolat ...

'' ( Broad Bay, 1946) and ''

Crouania willae ''Crouania willae'' is a marine red algal species endemic to New Zealand. It was first described in 1986 by Richard Earl Norris. Etymology The species epithet, ''willae'', honours Eileen Alice Willa who collected the type specimen (a femal ...

'' (Ringaringa, 1960). In 1974 with three others, she co-authored the publicatio
"The Marine Algae of Stewart Island"
A museum at

Rakiura Stewart Island (, ' glowing skies', officially Stewart Island / Rakiura, formerly New Leinster) is New Zealand's third-largest island, located south of the South Island, across Foveaux Strait. It is a roughly triangular island with a lan ...

was established, showing collections of native flora. In 1963 she became its curator and worked there for 22 years. Her daughter, Ellen, died in 1975, and her husband in 1985, at which point she presented her herbarium of Stewart Island algae to the National Museum, Wellington, and left Stewart Island to live in

Invercargill Invercargill ( , ) is the southernmost and westernmost list of cities in New Zealand, city in New Zealand, and one of the Southernmost settlements, southernmost cities in the world. It is the commercial centre of the Southland Region, Southlan ...

, where she died in 1999." She collected some 6000 specimens held in at least seven herbaria ( AK, BPBM,

MIN Min or MIN may refer to: Places * Fujian, also called Mǐn, a province of China ** Min Kingdom (909–945), a state in Fujian * Min County, a county of Dingxi, Gansu province, China * Min River (Fujian) * Min River (Sichuan) * Mineola (Am ...

MICH Mich or MICH may refer to: People * An abbreviation for Michelle (name) * Mich Dulce (born 1981), Filipina fashion designer, milliner, corsetiere, feminist activist, actress, artist and singer * Mich Matsudaira (1937–2019), American businessman ...

, MELU,

NHMUK The Natural History Museum in London is a museum that exhibits a vast range of specimens from various segments of natural history. It is one of three major museums on Exhibition Road in South Kensington, the others being the Science Museum and ...

and S), and across some 74 plant families. Her specimens are still contributing to scientific research. Ptilonia willana Lindauer (AM AK295879).jpg, '' Ptilonia willana'': AK295879 Spatoglossum chapmanii Lindauer (AM AK331441).jpg, ''

Spatoglossum chapmanii ''Spatoglossum chapmanii'' is a marine brown algal species in the family Dictyotaceae, Endemism, endemic to New Zealand. References External links ''spatoglossum chapmanii'' occurrence datafrom GBIF Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa: '' ...

'': AK331441) Blechnum vulcanicum MIN571206.jpg, '' Blechnum vulcanicum'' MIN571206

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Willa, Eileen Alice 1905 births 1999 deaths 20th-century New Zealand botanists People from Stewart Island 20th-century New Zealand women scientists New Zealand women botanists Women phycologists New Zealand women curators