Libby Houston is an English poet, botanist, and rock climber. The native of

North London North London is the northern part of London, England, north of the River Thames. It extends from Clerkenwell and Finsbury, on the edge of the City of London financial district, to Greater London's boundary with Hertfordshire. The term ''nor ...

has published several collections of poetry. Houston, a research associate at the School of Biological Sciences at the

University of Bristol The University of Bristol is a Red brick university, red brick Russell Group research university in Bristol, England. It received its royal charter in 1909, although it can trace its roots to a Society of Merchant Venturers, Merchant Venturers' sc ...

, has discovered several new species of

whitebeam The whitebeams are members of the family Rosaceae, comprising subgenus ''Aria'' (or, according to some authorities, its own genus) of genus ''Sorbus'', and hybrids involving species of this subgenus and members of subgenera ''Sorbus'', ''Torminar ...

(''

Sorbus ''Sorbus'' is a genus of over 100 species of trees and shrubs in the rose family, Rosaceae. Species of ''Sorbus'' (''s.l.'') are commonly known as whitebeam, rowan (mountain-ash) and service tree. The exact number of species is disputed dep ...

''), one of which has been given her name. In addition to membership in several organisations related to

botany Botany, also called plant science (or plant sciences), plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "bot ...

, Houston is a participant in the Avon Gorge & Downs Wildlife Project. She was the recipient of the H. H. Bloomer medal in 2012. The award from the

Linnean Society of London The Linnean Society of London is a learned society dedicated to the study and dissemination of information concerning natural history, evolution, and taxonomy. It possesses several important biological specimen, manuscript and literature colle ...

acknowledged her contribution to natural history, in particular, the body of knowledge of whitebeams in Britain, and the

flora Flora (: floras or florae) is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous (ecology), indigenous) native plant, native plants. The corresponding term for animals is ''fauna'', and for f ...

Avon Gorge The Avon Gorge () is a 1.5-mile (2.5-kilometre) long gorge on the River Avon in Bristol, England. The gorge runs south to north through a limestone ridge west of Bristol city centre, and about 3 miles (5 km) from the mouth of the r ...

in Bristol, England. In 2018, she was recipient of the Marsh Botany Award, in recognition of lifetime achievement in the field.

Early life

Libby Houston was born Elizabeth Maynard Houston in North London, England, and was raised in the

West Country The West Country (occasionally Westcountry) is a loosely defined area of South West England, usually taken to include all, some, or parts of the counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset, Bristol, and, less commonly, Wiltshire, Glouce ...

. She was educated at

Lady Margaret Hall Lady Margaret Hall (LMH) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England, located on the banks of the River Cherwell at Norham Gardens in north Oxford and adjacent to the University Parks. The college is more formally ...

of the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the world's second-oldest university in contin ...

. In 1966, she married illustrator and musician Malcolm Dean in

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lor ...

. Houston published her first collection of poetry, ''A Stained Glass Raree Show'', in 1967, followed by ''Plain Clothes'' in 1971, ''At the Mercy'' in 1980 (all with

Allison & Busby Allison & Busby (A & B) is a publishing house based in London established by Clive Allison and Margaret Busby in 1967. The company has built up a reputation as a leading independent publisher. Background Launching as a publishing company in Ma ...

), ''Necessity'' in 1988 (Slow Dancer), ''A Little Treachery'' in 1990 (Circle Press), and ''All Change'' in 1993 (

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print book ...

). She has appeared on

BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

radio broadcasts for children since the early 1970s. She was widowed in 1974 and married Roderick Jewell in 1979, moving that year to Bristol. Houston received a certificate in Science Biology from the University of Bristol.

Research at the University of Bristol

In 2012 Houston was a research associate in the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Bristol, assisting Lewis Frost with his study of the flora of Avon Gorge in Bristol. Her skill at rock-climbing was essential to reach the plants, including spiked speedwell (''

Veronica spicata ''Veronica spicata'' (spiked speedwell; syn. ''Pseudolysimachion spicatum'') is a species of flowering plant in the family Plantaginaceae. It is tall and bears 1 foot long spikes with blue, pink, purple and white flowers. It is the county fl ...

'') and Bristol rockcress (''Arabis scabra''). More recently she worked with Simon Hiscock, then Professor of Botany at the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Bristol, as well as with Tim Rich, then head of the vascular plant section at the

National Museum Wales National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...

on Avon Gorge whitebeams (''Sorbus''). Sorbus aria-3420

She discovered a new hybrid of the tree, to which her name has been given, on a cliff of the

in 2005. Houston found the rare Houston's Whitebeam ('' Sorbus x houstoniae''), a hybrid between the Common Whitebeam (''

Sorbus aria ''Sorbus aria'' (syn. ''Aria nivea''), the whitebeam or common whitebeam, is a deciduous tree, the type species of the subgenus ''Sorbus'' subg. ''Aria'' of the genus ''Sorbus''. It is native to most of Europe as well as North Africa (Algeria, Mo ...

'') and the Bristol Whitebeam ('' Sorbus bristoliensis''). The single existing example which has been found is only accessible with ropes. The Houston's Whitebeam was one of fourteen new whitebeam trees officially named in the February 2009 issue of Watsonia, the journal of the

Botanical Society of the British Isles The Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland (BSBI) is a scientific society for the study of flora, plant distribution and taxonomy relating to Great Britain, Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. The society was founded as the Botani ...

. Five of those new trees were discovered in Bristol. Houston's research also included the

Wye Valley The Wye Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB; cy, Dyffryn Gwy) is an internationally important protected landscape straddling the border between England and Wales. The River Wye ( cy, Afon Gwy) is the fourth-longest river in the ...

, where she discovered three of the new whitebeams. Houston is a member of the

Bristol Naturalists' Society The Bristol Naturalists' Society is an organisation whose objectives include the promotion of the study of natural history, particularly that of the Bristol area, and the conservation of the fauna, flora, and geological sites of Britain. It was f ...

, the Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland, and the Somerset Rare Plants Group. In April 2012, she participated in an exhibition at Bradbury Hall,

Henleaze Henleaze is a northern suburb of the city of Bristol in South West England. It is an almost entirely residential inter-war development, with Edwardian streets on its southern fringes. Its main neighbours are Westbury on Trym, Horfield, Bish ...

, Bristol, celebrating the 150th anniversary of the Bristol Naturalists' Society. She was also a participant in the Avon Gorge & Downs Wildlife Project, which was established in 1999 to protect the Bristol side of the Avon Gorge and Downs and to increase awareness of the site.

Awards

In 2012, Houston was awarded the H. H. Bloomer Award from the

for her contribution to natural history, in particular of the Avon Gorge flora and British whitebeams. The silver medal is awarded by the society to an "amateur naturalist who has made an important contribution to biological knowledge." In 2018 she was awarded the Marsh Botany Award in recognition of her contribution to the knowledge of the flora of the Avon Gorge, and particularly Sorbus species.

Bibliography

* ''A Stained Glass Raree Show'',

, 1967 * ''Plain Clothes'', Allison & Busby, 1971 * ''At the Mercy'', Allison & Busby, 1980 * ''Necessity'', Slow Dancer Press, 1988 * ''A Little Treachery'', Circle Press Publications, 1990 * ''All Change'',

, 1993 * ''Cover of Darkness: Selected Poems, 1961–1998'', Slow Dancer Press, 2000

References

External links

School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol
{{DEFAULTSORT:Houston, Libby 1941 births Writers from London English women poets English botanists British rock climbers Alumni of Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford Alumni of the University of Bristol Living people 20th-century British poets 20th-century English women writers 20th-century English writers Female climbers