Helen Katherine Meyers Sharsmith (August 26, 1905 – November 10, 1982) was an American

biologist A biologist is a scientist who conducts research in biology. Biologists are interested in studying life on Earth, whether it is an individual Cell (biology), cell, a multicellular organism, or a Community (ecology), community of Biological inter ...

and educator.

Biography

Helen Sharsmith was born in on August 26, 1905 in

Oakland, California Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, California, Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major We ...

. She studied zoology at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

(UC Berkeley), earning a Bachelor's degree in

zoology Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the anatomy, structure, embryology, Biological classification, classification, Ethology, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinction, extinct, and ...

in 1927 and then a Master's degree and teaching credentials in 1928. For the next three years, she taught at Lassen High School and Junior College in Susanville. She met

Carl Sharsmith Carl William Sharsmith (March 14, 1903 – October 14, 1994) was an American naturalist and Yosemite park ranger, notable for his knowledge and interpretation of the Ecology of the Sierra Nevada, natural history of the Sierra Nevada. He taught ...

in 1930, at a summer class at the Yosemite Field School of Natural History in

Yosemite National Park Yosemite National Park ( ) is a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States in California. It is bordered on the southeast by Sierra National Forest and on the northwest by Stanislaus National Forest. The p ...

. They married in 1931. During this time, Carl was studying at the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...

(UCLA), and there Helen met botanist

Carl Epling Carl Clawson Epling (15 April 1894 – 17 November 1968) was an American botanist and taxonomist. Epling is best known for being the major authority on the Lamiaceae (mint family) of the Americas from the 1920s to the 1960s. In his later years he a ...

and carried out research with UCLA botany professor Flora Murray Scott. In 1932 they both transferred to UC Berkeley to enroll in the botany

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

program. Both were advised by

Herbert Mason Samuel George Herbert Mason (1891 – 20 May 1960) was a British film director, producer, stage actor, army officer, presenter of some revues, stage manager, theatre director, stage director, choreographer, Production manager (theatre), produ ...

and received their doctorates in 1940. Sharsmith's dissertation, titled ''Flora of the Mount Hamilton Range of California,'' was based on her extensive field research in the area. While earning her degree, Sharsmith worked as a research assistant at the University of California. She also worked as a biology teacher at

Mills College Mills College at Northeastern University in Oakland, California is part of Northeastern University's global university system. Mills College was founded as the Young Ladies Seminary in 1852 in Benicia, California; it was relocated to Oakland in ...

. Later, she worked as a biology assistant at the

Carnegie Institution of Washington The Carnegie Institution for Science, also known as Carnegie Science and the Carnegie Institution of Washington, is an organization established to fund and perform scientific research in the United States. This institution is headquartered in W ...

. After graduating, the two moved to the state of Washington, where Carl taught at

Washington State University Washington State University (WSU, or colloquially Wazzu) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Pullman, Washington, United States. Founded in 1890, WSU is also one of the oldest Land-grant uni ...

for three years. In 1950 she became a senior herbarium botanist at the Berkeley Herbarium, where she ran public service activities, including the university's extensive plant exchange program. During this time she also contributed research papers to scientific journal Madroño, and in 1965 she published ''Spring Wildflowers of the San Francisco Bay Region''. She retired in 1969.

Personal life

Helen Sharsmith enjoyed

photography Photography is the visual arts, art, application, and practice of creating images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is empl ...

and preferred to develop and print the photos herself. The Sharsmiths had two children, a son and a daughter, sometime after 1938. During their marriage, they had a tradition of visiting Yosemite National Park every year. They later divorced.

Death and legacy

After retirement, Sharsmith developed

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a neurodegenerative disease primarily of the central nervous system, affecting both motor system, motor and non-motor systems. Symptoms typically develop gradually and non-motor issues become ...

. She died at the Chaparral House Intermediate Care Facility in

Berkeley Berkeley most often refers to: *Berkeley, California, a city in the United States **University of California, Berkeley, a public university in Berkeley, California *George Berkeley (1685–1753), Anglo-Irish philosopher Berkeley may also refer to ...

on November 10, 1982. After her death, Carl Sharsmith established the Helen K. Sharsmith Award, which the

California Native Plant Society The California Native Plant Society (CNPS) is a California environmental non-profit organization (501(c)(3)) that seeks to increase understanding of California's native flora and to preserve it for future generations. The mission of CNPS is to c ...

awards to provide grant money to researchers (students and non-students) studying the native flora of California. Her friend Annetta Carter wrote an obituary which was published in Fremontia, a journal published by the California Native Plant Society. Sharsmith is recognized for her contributions to botanical research at the University of California. She is also noted as one of the first women botanists at the University of California. Species named after Sharsmith include Sharsmith's onion ( Allium sharsmithiae), Sharsmith's harebell ( Ravenella sharsmithiae), and Sharsmith's draba ( Draba sharsmithii).

Ivan Murray Johnston I. M. (Ivan Murray) Johnston (February 28, 1898 – May 31, 1960) was a United States botanist. He studied at Pomona College in Claremont, California and at Harvard University. His plant collections are housed in the '' Rancho Santa Ana Botan ...

named Sharsmith's stickseed (

Hackelia sharsmithii ''Hackelia sharsmithii'' is a species of flowering plant in the Boraginaceae, borage family known by the common name Sharsmith's stickseed. It is native to the Sierra Nevada (U.S.), Sierra Nevada of California, where its range extends along ridge ...

) after Carl Sharsmith, but Carl and Helen discovered it together at Mirror Lake after climbing

Mount Whitney Mount Whitney (Paiute: ''Too-man-i-goo-yah'' or ''Too-man-go-yah'') is a mountain in the Sierra Nevada mountain range of California, and the highest point in the contiguous United States, with an elevation of . It lies in East–Central Califor ...

Works

* ''Plant Life and Glaciers'' was co-written by Helen and Carl Sharsmith and published in a 1935 edition of Yosemite Nature Notes (former publication of Yosemite National Park). It describes the interconnected histories of the plant life and glaciers in the Yosemite area. * Sharsmith's 1945 doctoral dissertation, ''Flora of the Mount Hamilton Range of California,'' details native flora in the Mount Hamilton area. The Santa Clara Chapter of the California Native Plant Society published the dissertation in 1982. * ''A New Species of Linum From the Coast Ranges of California'', published in 1945, describes Linum bicarpellatum. * ''The Genus Hesperolinon (Linnaceae)'' is a 1961

monographic A monograph is generally a long-form work on one (usually scholarly) subject, or one aspect of a subject, typically created by a single author or artist (or, sometimes, by two or more authors). Traditionally it is in written form and published a ...

morphological study of flowers in the genus

Hesperolinon ''Hesperolinon'' is a genus in the family Linaceae, whose common genus names are dwarf-flax or western flax, in reference to their distribution along the west coast of North America. There are 13 known species within this genus of wildflowers, mo ...

. It was cited in the book ''Principles of Plant Taxonomy'', with authors David and Heywood noting that it was an excellent morphological study. * ''Spring Wildflowers of the San Francisco Bay Region'' (1965)

Standard author abbreviation

References

External links

Helen Katherine Sharsmith
entry in the Index of Botanists,

Harvard University Herbaria The Harvard University Herbaria and Botanical Museum are institutions located on the grounds of Harvard University at 22 Divinity Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts. The Botanical Museum is one of three which comprise the Harvard Museum of Natura ...

Libraries
Photograph of Helen K. Sharsmith
at the University of Minnesota, taken in 1945
UC Berkeley DocuBase search for Helen Sharsmith
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sharsmith, Helen 1905 births 1982 deaths 20th-century American botanists 20th-century American women photographers 20th-century American women scientists American women botanists Biologists from California Botanists active in California Botanists with author abbreviations Deaths from Parkinson's disease in California Mills College faculty People from Susanville, California Scientists from Oakland, California University of California, Berkeley alumni University of California, Berkeley faculty