Margery Claire Carlson (November 21, 1892 – July 5, 1985) was an American

botanist 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 ...

and a professor at

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

. After earning a

Ph.D. 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 ...

in botany and becoming the first full-time female professor at Northwestern, she went on a number of international scientific expeditions to

Central America Central America is a subregion of North America. Its political boundaries are defined as bordering Mexico to the north, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. Central America is usually ...

in order to collect plant specimens and find new species. Her relationship as a research assistant at the

Field Museum of Natural History The Field Museum of Natural History (FMNH), also known as The Field Museum, is a natural history museum in Chicago, Illinois, and is one of the largest such museums in the world. The museum is popular for the size and quality of its educationa ...

meant that a majority of her plant collection was donated to the museum and a special botany collection was created for her there. Carlson had a long history of involvement in the

conservation movement The conservation movement, also known as nature conservation, is a political, environmental, and social movement that seeks to manage and protect natural resources, including animal, fungus, and plant species as well as their habitat for the ...

and was honored with multiple awards, along with a

nature preserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geolog ...

being named after her.

Childhood and education

Carlson was born in

Arthur, Illinois Arthur is a village in Douglas and Moultrie counties in Illinois, with Arthur's primary street, Vine Street, being the county line. The population was 2,231 at the 2020 census. The Arthur area is home to the largest and oldest Amish community i ...

. Her parents, John E. Carlson and Nellie Marie Johnson, named her after the

marguerite daisy ''Argyranthemum frutescens'', known as Paris daisy, marguerite or marguerite daisy, is a perennial plant known for its flowers. It is native to the Canary Islands (part of Spain). Hybrids derived from this species (garden marguerites) are widely ...

. She graduated with a bachelor's degree from Northwestern University in 1916 before earning a Master's degree and then a Ph.D. in botany by 1925 from the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

. Beginning in 1927, she worked in the research department at the University of Wisconsin. Carlson afterward became a teacher at

Wellesley College Wellesley College is a Private university, private Women's colleges in the United States, historically women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Wellesley, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1870 by Henr ...

before returning to Northwestern University in 1930 to become a professor, where she would stay for the next three decades before retiring in the 1960s. She was the first woman to major in botany at Northwestern and the first woman to become a full professor at the university. Carlson also acted as a

research assistant A research assistant (RA) is a researcher employed, often on a temporary contract, by a university, research institute, or privately held organization to provide assistance in academic or private research endeavors. Research assistants work under ...

at the Field Museum for the specimens that she collected and the full collection they were a part of.

Research

Carlson's botany research starting from 1927 focused on the development of orchids, including discovering ways to grow them in varied climates. She was able to create cultivars of domesticated orchids with reduced growing times thanks to the specialized feeding solution she devised. Beginning in 1933, she began researching ways of rapidly cultivating the grass pink orchid found on the shore of

Lake Michigan Lake Michigan ( ) is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is the second-largest of the Great Lakes by volume () and depth () after Lake Superior and the third-largest by surface area (), after Lake Superior and Lake Huron. To the ...

. There was a large market for its close relative, the tropical orchid, but due to it only growing in a

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the equator, where the sun may shine directly overhead. This contrasts with the temperate or polar regions of Earth, where the Sun can never be directly overhead. This is because of Earth's ax ...

climate and taking seven years to reach maturity, the species was in short supply and extremely expensive to obtain. Carlson announced in October 1936 that she had succeeded in figuring out the cultivation method for the grass pink orchid, reducing its germination to flowering time period to only three years, and would have cheap seeds and bulbs available for the public soon after. She also moved her research focus onto accomplishing the same with the lady slipper orchid due to its population decreasing so much that it was at risk in many US states.

Career

As a practicing botanist, Carlson made frequent trips to Mexico and Central America to search and catalog plant species in the regions. In a 1940 paper, Carlson described the first finding of a special type of

seed coat In botany, a seed is a plant structure containing an embryo and stored nutrients in a protective coat called a ''testa''. More generally, the term "seed" means anything that can be sown, which may include seed and husk or tuber. Seeds are the ...

found only in a few

orchid Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Orchids are cosmopolitan plants that are found in almost every habitat on Eart ...

species and surrounding the

plant embryo An embryo ( ) is the initial stage of development for a multicellular organism. In organisms that reproduce sexually, embryonic development is the part of the life cycle that begins just after fertilization of the female egg cell by the male spe ...

. She described this as a "covering of the embryo" or an "inner seed coat".

White Nun expeditions (1945-1949)

During their first multi-country trip in 1945-1946 that was funded by both Northwestern University and the Field Museum, she and her life partner, Kate Staley, collected hundreds of pressed plant specimens and more than 100 living specimens were also returned from the trip, such as the White Nun orchid. For this trip, Carlson ended up being the first lead female expeditioner to ever travel to the mountains of

El Salvador El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...

for a scientific project. Returning from their expedition on April 11, 1936, the living orchids and 4,000 plant samples representing 1,200 species of plants were sent through customs in New Orleans and the living samples planted in the Northwestern University greenhouses for future propagation. Two years later beginning in December 1948 and extending into 1949, the pair conducted another trip, but without travel by plane or train, but by car for the entire trek. This botanical survey was funded by both Northwestern University and the Field Museum. They named their car ''El Caracol'' ("The Snail") due to how the back of the car was carrying everything they would need for the next six to nine months, their home "on its back". One of the main purposes of the trip was to find, photograph, and take samples of a new species of flower they had found on their prior expedition, but the photos of which had been lost and no sample had been taken at the time. Another purpose was to replace the White Nun orchid obtained in the 1946 trip, as many of the specimens from that time had been accidentally destroyed after a power failure in the university greenhouse during the middle of winter. During their trip, on April 6, 1949, they discovered a new species of ''

Tillandsia ''Tillandsia'' is a genus of around 650 species of evergreen, perennial plant, perennial flowering plants in the family (biology), family Bromeliaceae, native to the forests, mountains and deserts of the Neotropical realm, Neotropics, from northe ...

'' in

Chiapas Chiapas, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Chiapas, is one of the states that make up the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 federal entities of Mexico. It comprises Municipalities of Chiapas, 124 municipalities and its capital and large ...

that would later be described by L.B. Smith and named '' Tillandsia carlsoniae''. In total, this second trip resulted in several thousand plant specimens collected, 300 of them living, and they were able to discover 15 new species of plants.

Later expeditions

Another trip was conducted from December 1951 to April 1952 and resulted in a collection of over 1,000 plant specimens and a number of new species, which were all donated to the Field Museum's botany collection. This third expedition traveled to Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras, with the pair aiming to be the first recorded people to travel the entire stretch of Guatemala by car along the

Pan-American Highway The Pan-American Highway is a vast network of roads that stretches about 30,000 kilometers (about 19,000 miles) from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, in the northernmost part of North America to Ushuaia, Argentina, at the southern tip of South America. I ...

. A significant portion of the three and a half month trip was spent in

Chiapas, Mexico Chiapas, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Chiapas, is one of the states that make up the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 federal entities of Mexico. It comprises Municipalities of Chiapas, 124 municipalities and its capital and large ...

before moving through several countries to the

cloud forests A cloud forest, also called a water forest, primas forest, or tropical montane cloud forest, is a generally tropical or subtropical, evergreen, montane, moist forest characterized by a persistent, frequent or seasonal low-level cloud cover, ...

of Honduras. Five new species of

ferns The ferns (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta) are a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. They differ from mosses by being vascular, i.e., having specialized tissue ...

were catalogued there, along with an investigation into several mining sites along the route to look for

fossilized A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...

plants at the request of botanists at the Field Museum. A fourth trip began in December 1954 in order to collect ''

Russelia ''Russelia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the Plantago, plantain family, Plantaginaceae. It is sometimes placed in the families Scrophulariaceae or Veronicaceae. The name honours Scottish naturalist Alexander Russell (naturalist), Alexander ...

'' species and determine their distribution, growth characteristics, and where samples in the existing museum collections had been taken from. Carlson traced the origins of the plant throughout Mexico, focusing particularly on a canyon near

Iguala Iguala (), known officially as Iguala de la Independencia, is a historic city located from the state capital of Chilpancingo, in the Mexican state of Guerrero in southwestern Mexico. Geography The city of Iguala stands on Federal Highway 95 ...

where '' Russelia pringlei'' had been identified and named by

Cyrus Pringle Cyrus Guernsey Pringle (May 6, 1838 – May 25, 1911) was an American botanist who spent a career of 35 years cataloguing the plants of North America. He was a prolific collector and accomplished botanical explorer. Early life He was born on May ...

in 1906. The end of the trip continued on into El Salvador and Honduras following ''Russelia'' traces before she returned to the US in June 1955. Carlson would make numerous international trips throughout her career, involving the countries of

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, ...

, and

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. Of the plant family

Bromeliaceae The Bromeliaceae (the bromeliads) are a family of monocot flowering plants of about 80 genera and 3700 known species, native mainly to the tropical Americas, with several species found in the American subtropics and one in tropical west Africa, ...

alone, she discovered 25 new species and 19 of them were found just within the region of Chiapas. She retired in 1958 from being an active professor at Northwestern University, but remained working as a research assistant at the Field Museum and continued conducting collecting expeditions, primarily in Mexico. After the creation of a state park committee in December 1961 to advise governor

Otto Kerner Jr. Otto Kerner Jr. (August 15, 1908 – May 9, 1976) was an American jurist and politician. He served as the 33rd governor of Illinois from 1961 to 1968 and chaired the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders (the Kerner Commission). He wa ...

on how to keep up preservation efforts for the

Illinois Beach State Park Adeline Jay Geo-Karis Illinois Beach State Park, part of the Illinois state parks, Illinois state park system, is located along Lake Michigan in northern Lake County, Illinois, Lake County in northeast Illinois. Together with lands to the nort ...

, Carlson was picked as one of the two members of her region to be on the ten person board. Governor Kerner also added her to the board of the Illinois Youth Commission in 1964.

Legacy and accolades

Carlson was a founder of the Illinois Chapter of the

Nature Conservancy The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is a global environmental organization headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, United States. it works via affiliates or branches in 79 countries and territories, as well as across every state in the US. Founded in ...

. In the 1960s, a wildflower garden in

Evanston, Illinois Evanston is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States, situated on the North Shore (Chicago), North Shore along Lake Michigan. A suburb of Chicago, Evanston is north of Chicago Loop, downtown Chicago, bordered by Chicago to the south, Skok ...

's Lighthouse Park was named after her. An official

was named after her in 1976, with the "Margery C. Carlson Nature Preserve" being in LaSalle County. She was awarded the Eloise Payne Luquer Medal in 1952 and the Sarah Gildersleeve Fife Memorial Award in 1954, both from the

Garden Club of America The Garden Club of America is a nonprofit organization made up of around 18,000 club members and 200 local garden clubs around the United States. Founded in 1913, by Elizabeth Price Martin and Ernestine Abercrombie Goodman, it promotes the recordi ...

. The organization

Graduate Women in Science Graduate Women in Science (GWIS), formerly known as Sigma Delta Epsilon (ΣΔΕ), is an international professional organization for women in science. It was established as a scientific women's fraternity in 1921 at Cornell University, United State ...

made her an honorary member in 1978 and later named a fellowship award after Carlson titled the "Margery Carlson & Kate Staley Memorial Fellowship".

Personal life

Carlson lived in Evanston, Illinois with her partner Kate Staley, a former physiologist who had retired and accompanied Carlson on many of her expeditions. She was a member of the

Sigma Delta Epsilon Graduate Women in Science (GWIS), formerly known as Sigma Delta Epsilon (ΣΔΕ), is an international professional organization for women in science. It was established as a scientific women's fraternity in 1921 at Cornell University, United State ...

fraternity for women in science and acted as secretary for the national branch. She was an active conservationist and promoter of protecting wilderness in Illinois. Carlson was made an adviser for the Evanston Garden Club and herself joined a number of professional organizations related to botany and environmental organizations in the area. Her conservation efforts focused on areas such as Volo Bog, Illinois State Beach, and

Matthiessen State Park Matthiessen State Park is an Illinois state park located a few miles south of the more famous Starved Rock State Park. The main entrances to both parks are located on Illinois State Route 178. History The park is near Oglesby, Illinois, Oglesb ...

Selected works

* ''Morphological and Cytological Studies of Saprolegnia Sp.'' (1920),

University of Wisconsin–Madison The University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin, UW, UW–Madison, or simply Madison) is a public land-grant research university in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. It was founded in 1848 when Wisconsin achieved st ...

* ''Gametogenesis and fertilization in Achlya racemosa'' (1929),

* ''Monograph of the Genus Russelia (Scrophulariaceae)'' (1957),