Libby Houston (born 1941) is an English poet and botanist. The native of

North London North London is the northern part of London, England, north of the River Thames and the City of London. It extends from Clerkenwell and Finsbury, on the edge of the City of London financial district, to Greater London's boundary with Hertfordshi ...

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 public university, public research university in Bristol, England. It received its royal charter in 1909, although it can trace its roots to a Merchant Venturers' school founded in 1595 and University College, Br ...

, has discovered several new species of

whitebeam The whitebeams are members of the family Rosaceae, tribe Malinae, comprising a number of deciduous simple or lobe-leaved species formerly lumped together within ''Sorbus'' s.l. Many whitebeams are the result of extensive intergeneric hybridisa ...

(''

Sorbus ''Sorbus'' is a genus of over 100 species of trees and shrubs in the rose family, Rosaceae. Species of ''Sorbus'' ('' s.str.'') are commonly known as rowan or mountain-ash. The genus used to include species commonly known as whitebeam, cheque ...

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

botany Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...

, 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 (biology), taxonomy. It possesses several important biological specimen, manuscript a ...

acknowledged her contribution to

natural history Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...

, 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 Canyon, gorge on the River Avon (Bristol), 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&nbs ...

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 is a loosely defined area within southwest England, usually taken to include the counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset and Bristol, with some considering it to extend to all or parts of Wiltshire, Gloucestershire and ...

. She was educated at

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

of the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, 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 List of oldest un ...

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

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

. 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 publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...

). She has appeared on

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

radio broadcasts for children since the early 1970s. She was widowed in 1974, and married Roderick Jewell in 1979, moving that year to

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

. Houston received a certificate in Science Biology from the

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 flow ...

'') 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, ce ...

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 ''Aria edulis'', the whitebeam or common whitebeam, is a species of deciduous tree in the family ''Rosaceae''. The tree often forms new shoots around the trunk. Typically compact and domed, the plant has a few upswept branches and the leaves ha ...

'') and the Bristol Whitebeam (''

Sorbus bristoliensis ''Sorbus'' is a genus of over 100 species of trees and shrubs in the rose family, Rosaceae. Species of ''Sorbus'' ('' s.str.'') are commonly known as rowan or mountain-ash. The genus used to include species commonly known as whitebeam, chequer t ...

''). 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 () is a valley in Wales and England. The River Wye () is the Rivers of Great Britain#Longest rivers in the United Kingdom, fourth-longest river in the United Kingdom. The upper part of the valley is in the Cambrian Mountains an ...

, 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 suburb in the north of the city of Bristol in South West England. It is an almost entirely residential interwar development, with Edwardian streets on its southern fringes. Its main neighbours are Westbury on Trym, Horfield, ...

, 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 20th-century British poets 20th-century English women writers 20th-century English writers Alumni of Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford Alumni of the University of Bristol English botanists English women poets Living people Writers from London