Mildred Esther Mathias (September 19, 1906 – February 16, 1995) 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 professor. She was a professor at

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

from 1962 until 1974. She also served as president of the American Society for Plant Taxonomists and the

Botanical Society of America The Botanical Society of America (BSA) represents professional and amateur botanists, researchers, educators and students in over 80 countries of the world. It functions as a United States nonprofit 501(c)(3) membership society. History The soc ...

Early career

Mathias was born in

Sappington, Missouri Sappington is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in St. Louis County, Missouri, United States. The population was 7,995 at the 2020 census. History Sappington was named for a family of pioneer settlers. After Daniel B ...

on September 19, 1906. Beginning her college career in the 1920s, Mathias originally had planned to study mathematics, but she instead studied botany, getting her bachelor's, master's degree and PhD at

Washington University in St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis (WashU) is a private research university in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1853 by a group of civic leaders and named for George Washington, the university spans 355 acres across its Danforth ...

by the age of 22. She married Gerald Hassler, a PhD in physics, in Philadelphia in August 1930. From 1932 to 1936, Mathias was a research associate at the

New York Botanical Garden The New York Botanical Garden (NYBG) is a botanical garden at Bronx Park in the Bronx, New York City. Established in 1891, it is located on a site that contains a landscape with over one million living plants; the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, ...

and then at

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 ...

by 1937 with Dr. Lincoln Constance for carrot studies. Her family moved to southern California by 1944.

Career

She studied, classified, and led groups to discover plants across the world, from Southeastern Asia to Australia, to South-Central Africa, to the Amazons, to the western United States, helping popularize "ecotourism". She discovered over 100 types of

Umbelliferae Apiaceae () or Umbelliferae is a family of mostly aromatic flowering plants named after the type genus '' Apium,'' and commonly known as the celery, carrot, or parsley family, or simply as umbellifers. It is the 16th-largest family of flowering ...

. In 1954, The genus ''

Mathiasella ''Mathiasella'' is a monotypic genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Apiaceae. It is in the Tribe Selineae. The genus only contains one known species, ''Mathiasella bupleuroides'' Constance & C.L.Hitchc. It is native to Mexico. The ...

'', a north-eastern Mexico umbellifer, was named in her honor. Her first trip abroad as a retired professor was to Costa Rica in 1974 and led 53 trips since and to over 30 countries. She published over 200 articles and books about her findings. She placed a strong emphasis on education for the general public, both directing the UCLA botanical garden (which was renamed the Mildred E. Mathias Botanical Garden in her honor) and hosting a weekly television show via NBC on gardening with co-host Dr. William Stewart called "The Wonderful World of Ornamentals". Mathias helped establish the

University of California Natural Reserve System The University of California Natural Reserve System (UCNRS) is a system of protected areas throughout California. The reserves support UC's mission of teaching, research, and public service. Unlike national and state parks, they are not availab ...

(Natural Reserve System) a system of undisturbed California habitats that was acquired and managed by the

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university, research university system in the U.S. state of California. Headquartered in Oakland, California, Oakland, the system is co ...

for university teaching and research. She promoted conservation in Costa Rica, creating the

Organization for Tropical studies The Organization for Tropical Studies (OTS)/Organización para Estudios Tropicales (OET), founded in 1963, is a non-profit consortium of over 50 universities and research institutions based in the United States, Latin America, and South Africa. OTS ...

, helping with preservation of Costa Rican lands.

Awards

*California Conservation Council Merit Award, 1962 *

Medical Auxiliary Woman of Science Award, 1963 *Los Angeles Times Woman of the Year, 1964 *

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 ...

National Award, 1964
Pacific Coast Nurseryman
Award for Outstanding Achievement in Horticulture, 1967 *Merit Award from the

, 1973 *Award of Merit by the American Association of Botanical Gardens and Arboreta, 1976 *Liberty Hyde Bailey Medal from the American Horticulture Society, 1980 *Medal of Honor 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 ...

for outstanding horticulturist who has made a contribution in the fields of research and education, 1982 *Honorary Fellow of the Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation, 1986 *Charles Lawrence Hutchinson Medal of th
Chicago Horticultural Society
1988 *Honorary Trustee of the Missouri Botanical Garden, 1989 *

Emeritus Professor of the Year, 1990 *Distinguished Economic Botanist by the Society of Economic Botany, 1993

Leadership

: Herbarium Botanist under Carl Epling (1947), Plant Taxonomy Lecturer (1951), Assistant Professor in Botany Department, Vice Chair (1955), Director of UCLA Botanical Garden (1956) * Helped establish the UC Natural Land and Water Reserves System (Natural Reserve System), 1960s * First Female President of

American Society of Plant Taxonomists The American Society of Plant Taxonomists (ASPT) is a botany, botanical organization formed in 1935 to "foster, encourage, and promote education and research in the field of plant taxonomy, to include those areas and fields of study that contribut ...

, 1964 * President of

Organization for Tropical Studies The Organization for Tropical Studies (OTS)/Organización para Estudios Tropicales (OET), founded in 1963, is a non-profit consortium of over 50 universities and research institutions based in the United States, Latin America, and South Africa. OTS ...

, 1969-1970 * First executive director of the Association of American Botanical Gardens and Arboreta: created a certification program in horticulture that linked universities with hands-on training at a network of horticultural gardens, 1977-1981 * President of

, 1984

Writing

* Mathias, Mildred E. "Studies on the Umbelliferae. I." in Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden. St. Louis: Missouri Botanical Garden Press (1928) 15: 91–108. * Mathias, Mildred E. "Studies on the Umbelliferae. II." in Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden. St. Louis: Missouri Botanical Garden Press (1929) 16: 393- 398. * Mathias, Mildred E. "Studies on the Umbelliferae. III." A Monograph of Cymopterus Including A Critical Study of Related Genera" in Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden. St. Louis: Missouri Botanical Garden Press (1930). 17: 213- 476. * Mathias, Mildred E. "Studies on the Umbelliferae. IV." in Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden. St. Louis: Missouri Botanical Garden Press (1932). 19: 497- 498. * Hinton, George B.; Mathias, Mildred E.; Constance, Lincoln "Herbarium of George B. Hinton, Umbelliferae" in Plant Lists, Mexico. (1931- 1941). * Mathias, Mildred E. "A Revision of the Genus Lomatium" in Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden. St. Louis: Missouri Botanical Garden Press (1938). 25: 225–297. * Mathias, Mildred E. and Constance, Lincoln "A SYNOPSIS OF THE AMERICAN SPECIES OF CICUTA" in: Madroño: a West American journal of botany. Berkeley, California Botanical Society (1942). 6: 145- 151. * Mathias, Mildred E. and Constance, Lincoln "A NEW SPECIES OF TAUSCHIA FROM THE STATE OF WASHINGTON" in Madroño: a West American journal of botany. Berkeley, California Botanical Society (1943). 7: 65- 67. * Raven, Peter H. and Mathias, Mildred E. "SANICULA DESERTICOLA, AN ENDEMIC OF BAJA CALIFORNIA" in: Madroño: a West American journal of botany. Berkeley, California Botanical Society (1960). 15: 193- 197. * Mathias, Mildred E. "Distribution Patterns of Certain Umbelliferae" in Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden. St. Louis: Missouri Botanical Garden Press (1965). 52: 387–398. * Mathias, Mildred E.; Constance, Lincoln; Theobald, William L "TWO NEW SPECIES OF UMBELLIFERAE FROM THE SOUTHWESTERN UNITED STATES" in: Madroño: a West American journal of botany. Berkeley, California Botanical Society (1969). 20: 214- 219. * Mathias, Mildred E. and Constance, Lincoln "NEW AND RECONSIDERED MEXICAN UMBELLIFERAE" in: Contributions from the University of Michigan Herbarium. Ann Arbor :University Herbarium, University of Michigan (1977). 24: 78–83. * Mathias, Mildred E. and Constance, Lincoln "A NEW SPECIES OF OREOMYRRHS (UMBELLIFERAE, APIACEAE) FROM NEW GUINEA)" in: Journal of the Arnold Arboretum. Cambridge, Mass (1977). 58: 190–192. * Mathias, Mildred E. "Color for the Landscape: Flowering Plants for Subtropical Climates." (1976). * Mathias, Mildred E. "Flowering Plants in the Landscape." University of California Press. (1985).

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mathias, Mildred E. American taxonomists 01 1906 births 1995 deaths American women botanists Women taxonomists Botanists active in California University of California, Los Angeles faculty Botanical Society of America Academics from Los Angeles Scientists from Los Angeles People from St. Louis County, Missouri 20th-century American botanists 20th-century American women scientists Washington University in St. Louis alumni