Sara Allen Plummer Lemmon (1836–1923) 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 ...

Mount Lemmon Mount Lemmon, with a summit elevation of , is the highest point in the Santa Catalina Mountains. It is located in the Coronado National Forest north of Tucson, Arizona, United States. Mount Lemmon was named for botany, botanist Sara Plummer Lemm ...

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

is named for her, as she was the first Euro-American woman to ascend it. She was responsible for the designation of the golden poppy (''

Eschscholzia californica ''Eschscholzia californica'', the California poppy, golden poppy, Mexican poppy, California sunlight or cup of gold, is a species of flowering plant in the family Papaveraceae, native to the United States and Mexico. It is cultivated as an orn ...

'') as the

state flower This is a list of U.S. state, federal district, and territory flowers. See also *List of U.S. state trees * Lists of U.S. state insignia References External linksList of state flowers {{USStateLists * U.S. state flowers Flowers ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, in 1903."California Beat Hero: Sara Plummer Lemmon"
May 27, 2009. A number of plants are also named in her honor, including the new genus ''

Plummera ''Hymenoxys'' (rubberweed or bitterweed) is a genus of plants in the sunflower family, native to North and South America. It was named by Alexandre Henri Gabriel de Cassini in 1828. Plants of this genus are toxic to sheep due to the presence of ...

'' (now placed as a

subgenus In biology, a subgenus ( subgenera) is a taxonomic rank directly below genus. In the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, a subgeneric name can be used independently or included in a species name, in parentheses, placed between the ge ...

within ''

Hymenoxys ''Hymenoxys'' (rubberweed or bitterweed) is a genus of plants in the sunflower family, native to North and South America. It was named by Alexandre Henri Gabriel de Cassini in 1828. Plants of this genus are toxic to sheep due to the presence of ...

''Bierner, Mark W 199
SUBMERSION OF DUGALDIA AND PLUMMERA IN HYMENOXYS (ASTERACEAE: HELIANTHEAE: GAILLARDIINAE)
''Sida, Contributions To Botany'' Volume: 16:1-8), described by botanist

Asa Gray Asa Gray (November 18, 1810 – January 30, 1888) is considered the most important American botany, botanist of the 19th century. His ''Darwiniana'' (1876) was considered an important explanation of how religion and science were not necessaril ...

in 1882.

Early life and education

Plummer was born in

New Gloucester, Maine New Gloucester is a town in Cumberland County, Maine, United States. New Gloucester is included in the Lewiston-Auburn, Maine metropolitan New England city and town area. It is home to the Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village, the last active Shaker ...

, on September 3, 1836. She was educated in Massachusetts at the Female College of Worcester. Plummer then moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, where she taught art for some yearsMichael Redmon
"Who is responsible for setting up Santa Barbara’s first library?"
''Santa Barbara Independent'', April 10, 2008. and studied at

Cooper Union The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, commonly known as Cooper Union, is a private college on Cooper Square in Lower Manhattan, New York City. Peter Cooper founded the institution in 1859 after learning about the government-s ...

. She also served as a nurse for a year or two during the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

Career

Having fallen ill in 1868 or 1869, Plummer moved to California in 1869, after hearing from her friend how the trip helped his health. Newspapers of the day described Plummer as "one of the first 'intellectuals to move to Santa Barbara. In 1871, she established the "Lending Library and Stationery Depot" with the aid of a friend, Unitarian minister Henry Bellows, who helped her acquire her first few hundred volumes. Operating out of a jewelry store on State Street, Plummer charged $5 membership or 10 cents for borrowing books, sold a variety of art and music supplies, and held cultural gatherings including lectures and art exhibits. She became a member of the

Pacific Coast Women's Press Association Pacific Coast Women's Press Association (PCWPA; September 27, 1890 - 1941) was a press organization for women located on the West Coast of the United States. Discussions were not permitted regarding politics, religion, or reform. The members of the ...

. While walking about Santa Barbara, Plummer became interested in

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 ...

, and began creating botanical illustrations. In 1876, Plummer met John Gill (J.G.) Lemmon (1831–1908) when he was giving a lecture in Santa Barbara.Kimberly Matas
"Life stories: Mt. Lemmon's namesake was female explorer"
''Arizona Daily Star'', Oct. 31, 2011. Lemmon, a Civil War veteran and former

Andersonville prison The Andersonville National Historic Site, located near Andersonville, Georgia, preserves the former Andersonville Prison (also known as Camp Sumter), a Confederate prisoner-of-war camp during the final fourteen months of the American Civil Wa ...

er, was also a self-trained botanist. The couple started corresponding via letters and Lemmon tutored her in botany. She also sent him a shrub she had found near Santa Barbara, and after a friend of his examined it, named it '' Baccharis plummerae'' in honor of her. The couple married 1880, and Plummer took the surname Lemmon. She sold her library to the

Odd Fellows Odd Fellows (or Oddfellows when referencing the Grand United Order of Oddfellows or some British-based fraternities; also Odd Fellowship or Oddfellowship) is an international fraternity consisting of lodges first documented in 1730 in 18th-cen ...

to operate, and she and John Lemmon began traveling and cataloging botanical discoveries. Sara and John Lemmon honeymooned in the

Santa Catalina Mountains The Santa Catalina Mountains, commonly referred to as the Catalina Mountains or the Catalinas, are north and northeast of Tucson in Arizona, United States, on Tucson's north perimeter. The mountain range is the most prominent in the Tucson area, w ...

near

Tucson, Arizona Tucson (; ; ) is a city in Pima County, Arizona, United States, and its county seat. It is the second-most populous city in Arizona, behind Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix, with a population of 542,630 in the 2020 United States census. The Tucson ...

, at her recommendation.Carrie M. Miner
"Sara Plummer Lemmon"
''Arizona Scenic Roads'' (last visited Aug. 24, 2012). With the aid of E. O. Stratton, they eventually scaled the tallest peak, which was named Mount Lemmon in her honor – one of the few mountains named for a woman.Leo W. Banks

(last visited Aug. 24, 2012). While on this trip, the Lemmons discovered and cataloged a number of species unique to the mountain. After returning from their trip, the couple continued their botanical endeavors. The Lemmons co-developed the Lemmon Herbarium at their home at No. 5985

Telegraph Avenue Telegraph Avenue is a street that begins, at its southernmost point, in the midst of the historic Downtown Oakland, downtown district of Oakland, California, and ends, at its northernmost point, at the southern edge of the University of Califo ...

,James Miller Guinn, ''History of the State of California and Biographical Record of Oakland and Environs'' (1907), Historic Record Company, pp.834–835. Available a
California Biographies
(last visited Aug. 24, 2012). later donating it to

UC Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after the Anglo-Irish philosopher George Berkele ...

, where it was eventually merged into the

University and Jepson Herbaria The University and Jepson Herbaria are two herbaria that share a joint facility at the University of California, Berkeley holding over 2,200,000 botanical specimens, the largest such collection on the US West Coast. These botanical natural histor ...

."Biographical Information", John and Sara (Plummer) Lemmon Papers
University and Jepson Herbaria Archives, University of California, Berkeley (last visited Aug. 24, 2012). Lemmon continued her botanical illustrations, and served as the official artist for the California State Board of Forestry (from 1888 to 1892), acquiring a national reputation for her work. In 1882, Lemmon discovered a new genus of plants called '' Plummera floribunda.'' In 1893, she presented a lecture on

forest conservation Forest management is a branch of forestry concerned with overall administrative, legal, economic, and social aspects, as well as scientific and technical aspects, such as silviculture, forest protection, and forest regulation. This includes manag ...

at the

World's Columbian Exposition The World's Columbian Exposition, also known as the Chicago World's Fair, was a world's fair held in Chicago from May 5 to October 31, 1893, to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. The ...

in Chicago. During the 1890s she also advocated for the adoption of the golden poppy as the state flower of

, eventually writing the bill passed by the California Legislature and signed in 1903.

Death

Her husband J.G. died in 1908, and Sara Plummer Lemmon died in California in 1923. The couple is buried at Mountain View Cemetery in Oakland.

Selected bibliography

*Sara Plummer Lemmon, "The Ferns of the Pacific Slope" (San Francisco, 1882) **"Silk Culture in California" (1884) **"Marine Botany" (1886) **''Marine Algae of the West'' **''Western Ferns'' *and John Gill Lemmon, ''How to Tell the Trees and Forest Endowment of Pacific Slope'' (1902)

Notes

External links