Elsa Matilde Zardini (1949–2020) was an Argentine-Paraguayan botanist, teacher, curator, and explorer. She made botanical expeditions in the US, Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay. Three botanical taxon names were authored by Zardini. Her specialization was the flora of the Plata basin, with an emphasis on that of Paraguay.

Early life and education

In 1973 Zardini earned a master's degree in Science, and in 1974 a PhD, both at the

National University of La Plata The National University of La Plata (, UNLP) is a national public research university located in the city of La Plata, capital of Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It has over 90,000 regular students, 10,000 teaching staff, 17 departments and 10 ...

in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Career

Zardini was one of the disciples of the Argentine botanist Ángel Lulio Cabrera among them: Genoveva Dawson, Otto Solbrig, Jorge Morello, Humberto A. Fabris (1924–1976),

Delia Abbiatti Delia Abbiatti (born 1918) is an Argentinian botanist and pteridologist, noted for studying ''Eriocaulaceae'', ''Loranthaceae'', ''Thelypteris'', and ''Cyclosorus''. The species ''Perezia abbiattii'' and ''Thelypteris abbiattii'' were named in h ...

, Noemí Correa, Delia Añón Suárez, Cristina Orsi, Amelia Torres, Aída Pontiroli, Jorge Crisci, Roberto Kiesling and Fernando Zuloaga. In 2011 she became associate curator of the

Missouri Botanical Garden The Missouri Botanical Garden is a botanical garden located at 4344 Shaw Boulevard in St. Louis, Missouri. It is also known informally as Shaw's Garden for founder and philanthropy, philanthropist Henry Shaw (philanthropist), Henry Shaw. I ...

Spermatophyte A seed plant or spermatophyte (; New Latin ''spermat-'' and Greek ' (phytón), plant), also known as a phanerogam (taxon Phanerogamae) or a phaenogam (taxon Phaenogamae), is any plant that produces seeds. It is a category of embryophyte (i.e. la ...

s was an area of interest for her. She died in 2020.

Publications

Flora of the Guianas Onagraceae. . Zardini, Elsa M,j. Jansen-Jacobs, peter h. Raven. 1991.''e''. Vol. 10. Ed. Koeltz ''American Cucurbitaceae useful to man:'' Whitaker, Thomas of the United States Department of Agriculture, Zardini, E.M. La Plata, October 7 to 14, 1980. Ed. Province of Buenos Aires Commission of Investigations Scientists,

Plants named by Zardini

Zardini named the plant taxa ''Lulia'', ''Lulia nervosa'', and ''Trichocline, Trichocline deserticola''.

References

1949 births Living people Paraguayan botanists Argentine women botanists Paraguayan women botanists 20th-century Argentine botanists 20th-century Argentine women scientists 21st-century Argentine botanists 21st-century Argentine women scientists Paraguayan expatriates in the United States National University of La Plata alumni Paraguayan women scientists Ethnobotanists {{Botanist-stub