Siri Sylvia Patricia von Reis (February 10, 1931 – August 3, 2021) was an American botanist, author, and poet of half- Finnish and half-

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

ancestry. She was an authority on traditional medicine. She was also an

investigator Investigator may refer to: Occupations Government and law * Detective, a person who investigates crimes, can be a rank and job in a police department, state or federal employee, or a civilian called a private detective * Inspector, a police rank ...

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, a ...

Personal life

Siri von Reis was the daughter of Bror Gustav von Reis (1903–1975), the president of Detroit Broach and Machine Company of

Rochester, Michigan Rochester is a city in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 12,711 at the 2010 census. It is a northern suburb in Metro Detroit located 20 miles north of the city of Detroit. Rochester was the first European settl ...

, and Donna Tavastila von Reis (1908–1994). She received a bachelor's degree in botany from the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

in 1953. After breaking off an engagement to the electronics executive Arthur G. B. Metcalf in 1959, she married the

Jewish American American Jews or Jewish Americans are American citizens who are Jewish, whether by religion, ethnicity, culture, or nationality. Today the Jewish community in the United States consists primarily of Ashkenazi Jews, who descend from diaspora J ...

banker Arthur Goodhart Altschul, a Goldman Sachs Group partner and member of the Lehman banking family.New York Times: "Arthur G. Altschul, 81, Banker, Art Collector and Philanthropist" By ERIC PACE
March 20, 2002 They had three children together, Arthur Jr. (born 1964), Emily Helen (born 1966), and broadcast journalist

Serena Altschul Serena Altschul (born October 13, 1970) is an American broadcast journalist, known for her work at MTV News and CBS. Early life and education Altschul was born in New York City, a daughter of author and botanist Siri von Reis and Arthur Alts ...

(born 1970), before their divorce in 1972.

References

Bibliography

* Schultes, R.E.; Altschul, S. 2005: ''Ethnobotany: The Evolution of a Discipline'' * Reis, Siri von 2001: ''The Love-Suicides at Sonezaki and other poems'' * Altschul, S.; Lipp, F.J.Jr. 1982: ''New Plant Sources for Drugs and Foods from the New York Botanical Garden Herbarium'' * Altschul, S. 1977: ''Exploring the Herbarium''. * Altschul, S. 1975. ''Drugs & Foods From Little-Known Plants - Notes in Harvard University Herbaria'' * Altschul, S. 1972: ''The Genus Anadenanthera in Amerindian Cultures'' 1931 births 2021 deaths 21st-century American botanists Writers from New York City American people of Swedish descent American people of Finnish descent Lehman family 20th-century American writers 21st-century American writers 21st-century American women writers 20th-century American women writers Scientists from New York (state) {{US-botanist-stub