Mabel Mary Cheveley Rayner (c. 1890-1948) was an English botanist specialising in

mycology Mycology is the branch of biology concerned with the study of fungi, including their genetic and biochemical properties, their taxonomy and their use to humans, including as a source for tinder, traditional medicine, food, and entheogens, a ...

. She published books and articles on plant physiology and was one of the first researchers to propose that mycorrhizal interactions could both help and harm plants.

Education

Rayner received a B.Sc. with honors in botany in 1908 from the University of London. She became interested in studying ''

Calluna vulgaris ''Calluna vulgaris'', common heather, ling, or simply heather, is the sole species in the genus ''Calluna'' in the flowering plant family Ericaceae. It is a low-growing evergreen shrub growing to tall, or rarely to and taller, and is found wid ...

'' in 1910, and earned a doctor of science degree for work on this topic, also from the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degre ...

Career

Rayner became head of the botany department at University College, Reading. She was on staff there from 1908 to 1918. She later shared a laboratory with her husband William Neilson Jones at

Bedford College, London Bedford College was in York Place after 1874 Bedford College was founded in London in 1849 as the first higher education college for women in the United Kingdom. In 1900, it became a constituent of the University of London. Having played a lead ...

. Rayner "thoroughly reviewed" academic research into mycorrhizal research, which had significantly increased in the nineteenth century. After publishing her doctoral thesis on mycorrhizas in 1915, she was employed by The

Forestry Commission The Forestry Commission is a non-ministerial government department responsible for the management of publicly owned forests and the regulation of both public and private forestry in England. The Forestry Commission was previously also respo ...

to undertake research on the mycological relationship in forestry environments. The commission gave Rayner a nursery at Wareham Heath,

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of ...

to perform research. As part of this research she issued questionnaires to forest departments around the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading post ...

, most of which were completed and returned. This provided significant Rayner with significant insight into their pine growing, particularly in

Northern Rhodesia Northern Rhodesia was a British protectorate in south central Africa, now the independent country of Zambia. It was formed in 1911 by amalgamating the two earlier protectorates of Barotziland-North-Western Rhodesia and North-Eastern Rhodes ...

Tanganyika Tanganyika may refer to: Places * Tanganyika Territory (1916–1961), a former British territory which preceded the sovereign state * Tanganyika (1961–1964), a sovereign state, comprising the mainland part of present-day Tanzania * Tanzania M ...

, and

Nyasaland Nyasaland () was a British protectorate located in Africa that was established in 1907 when the former British Central Africa Protectorate changed its name. Between 1953 and 1963, Nyasaland was part of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasal ...

. Rayner also travelled to collect samples from different climate zones. In 1926, a discussion at the

British Association for the Advancement of Science The British Science Association (BSA) is a charity and learned society founded in 1831 to aid in the promotion and development of science. Until 2009 it was known as the British Association for the Advancement of Science (BA). The current Ch ...

led Rayner to become more interested in mycorrhiza interactions in conifers. She published various works about her research, most notably a handful of books still consulted today. Her books have been reprinted as recently as 2018 as they are considered classic introductory-level references in botany.

Personal life

Rayner married William Neilson Jones in 1912. They met in 1910 when she started her research on ''Calluna vulgaris''. They had similar research interests and shared laboratory space at Bedford College where Jones was a professor. Their union was a productive research collaboration in addition to a personal relationship.

Publications

Her books have been reprinted often since their first publication, so these dates may not reflect the earliest printing. * Neilson-Jones, William; Rayner, Mabel Mary Cheveley (1920).
A textbook of plant biology
'. London: Methuen & Co. *Rayner, M. C (1922).
Nitrogen Fixation in Ericaceae
'.

OCLC OCLC, Inc., doing business as OCLC, See also: is an American nonprofit cooperative organization "that provides shared technology services, original research, and community programs for its membership and the library community at large". It wa ...

br>79618085
*Rayner, M. C (1927).
Mycorrhiza: an account of non-pathogenic infection by Fungi in vascular plants and bryophytes
'. London: Wheldon & Wesley.

br>4358688
*Keeble, Frederick; Rayner, M. C (1931).
Practical plant physiology
'. London: Bell.

br>69026483
*Rayner, M. C (1933).
Mycorrhiza in the genus Citrus
''. St. Albans, Eng.: Printed by Fisher, Knight & Co.

br>21348438
* Rayner, Mabel Mary Cheveley (1934).
Plant chimaeras and graft hybrids, &c
'. London. *Rayner, M. C (1934).
Mycorrhiza in relation to forestry. i. i.
' London.

br>1029918084
* Rayner, M; Neilson-Jones, W (1944).
Problems in tree nutrition: a[sic
account of researches concerned primarily with the mycorrhizal habit in relation to forestry and some biological aspects of soil fertility">ic">Problems in tree nutrition: a[sic
account of researches concerned primarily with the mycorrhizal habit in relation to forestry and some biological aspects of soil fertility'. London: Faber.

br>223694539
*Rayner, Mabel Mary Cheveley (1945).
Trees and Toadstools, &c
'. London.

br>191962046

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rayner, Mabel 1948 deaths English botanists English botanical writers English mycologists Alumni of the University of London Women mycologists