Talk:Nancy Tyson Burbidge

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An entry from Nancy Tyson Burbidge appeared on Wikipedia's Main Page in the Did you know? column on 31 July 2006.

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Nice work, Peta.

Below is her entry in Hall (1978). I notice there is a couple of minor points mentioned here but not mentioned in the Wikipedia article. You might like to consider whether they merit inclusion.

BURBIDGE, Nancy Tyson (1912-1977)
D.Sc.

Nancy Burbidge was born in Yorkshire, England, on 5 August 1912 and died in Canberra, A.C.T., on 4 March 1977. The family migrated to Western Australia shortly after her birth, where she was educated, graduating in science at the University of Western Australia. Her father was, at one time, Archdeacon of Bunbury. After experience in the field she joined the Waite Agricultural Research Institute, Adelaide, to study arid areas, and became an acknowledged authority on several grass genera. Later she worked on the taxonomy of Australian plants at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, England. She joined the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation in 1946 and was Senior Principal Research Scientist and Curator of the Herbarium Australiense until 1973 when she retired from the position of Curator but continued to work for the Australian Flora.

Dr. Burbidge was an authority on the Australian flora. She wrote Key to the South Australian species of Eucalyptus L'Herit. in Trans. Roy. Soc. S.A. 71(2) (1947) but had not specialised on the genus. Her more important publications include A Dictionary of Australian Plant Genera (1963) and, with Max Gray, Flora of the Australian Capital Territory (1963) and Wattles of the Australian Capital Territory (1967). In addition to her position as one of Australia's leading botanists she was also a botanical artist of considerable merit.

• Hall, Norman (1978). Botanists of the Eucalypts. Australia: CSIRO. ISBN 0643002715. .

Snottygobble 12:26, 26 July 2006 (UTC)

• Thanks there are a few useful bits and pieces there.--Peta 12:38, 26 July 2006 (UTC)
  • Welcome. Hall says "L'Hérit" not "L'Herit", i.e. accent over the e. I was lazy in transcribing. I wonder if it is in fact an error in Hall, as L'Héritier's standard botanical abbreviation is "L'Hér.". Snottygobble 12:48, 26 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Plants?

The article list places named for her, but what about plants? Where any dedicated to her? Circeus 00:45, 27 July 2006 (UTC)

• Not that I have seen. There are of courrse a bunch that she named, but you aren't supposed to name things after yourself.--Peta 01:25, 27 July 2006 (UTC)

Candidates are:

• Ptilotus spicatus subsp. burbidgeanus Benl
• Sclerolaena burbidgeae (Ising) A.J.Scott
• Bulbostylis burbidgeae K.L.Wilson
• Acacia burbidgeae Pedley
• Boerhavia burbidgeana Hewson
• Aristida burbidgeae B.K.Simon
• Nicotiana burbidgeae Symon

which I got from searching for "burbi*" in the APNI. Florabase further yields

• Triodia burbidgeana S.W.L.Jacobs
• Stylidium burbidgeanum Lowrie & Kenneally

It seems pretty obvious that these are named in Burbidge's honour, but I don't know how to confirm this.

Also, Burbidge's botanical abbreviation is N.T.Burb.

Snottygobble 01:44, 27 July 2006 (UTC)

• Well, that probably explain why all the references for burbidgei (and genus Burbiggea) traces into the 19th century. Wonder who these were about... Circeus 02:43, 27 July 2006 (UTC)
  • Good point. IPNI lists four botanists with surname "Burbidge:
    1. A.H.Burb. - Allan H. Burbidge fl. 1999
    2. Burb. - Frederick William Thomas Burbidge 1847-1905
    3. N.T.Burb. - Nancy Tyson Burbidge 1912-1977
    4. R.B.Burb. - Robert Brinsley Burbidge 1943-

Snottygobble 03:06, 27 July 2006 (UTC)

Lookie! Frederick William Burbidge has an article and this guy might be Allan H. Burbridge (wrote about triggerplants). Circeus 04:49, 27 July 2006 (UTC)

• Not according to Mabberley. --Peta 01:55, 27 July 2006 (UTC)
  • Mabberley Schmabberley :-) The International Plant Names Index says N.T.Burb. Snottygobble 02:03, 27 July 2006 (UTC)
    • Ah, I see you already made the change. Snottygobble 02:04, 27 July 2006 (UTC)
      • I also sent off an email to the ANBG to see if they have any inside info on those plant names, thanks for the list.--Peta 02:16, 27 July 2006 (UTC)
        • And thank you for the "you aren't supposed to name things after yourself" comment. I was just rewriting Banksia brownii#Taxonomy, and had just accused Robert Brown of naming "Banksia brownii Baxter ex R.Br." after himself, when I read your comment. It prompted me to seek clarification of what the "ex" bit means, and I discovered that it means that Baxter gave it a name without providing a description, and Brown merely published the description of a plant already named in his honour. Snottygobble 02:34, 27 July 2006 (UTC)
          • It's not an official rule, though. Since you can theorically name it after anything (Callicebus aureipalatii anybody?), many authors have gotten around that guideline by attributing the names to their wives or children. And it seems that I confused "non" and "ex" for a while there... Circeus 02:42, 27 July 2006 (UTC)
• The ANBG advised that I check all the original publications for naming honours since they don't compile that information. Not something I'm in a hurry to do. Anyway having a mountain named in your honour is a lot more impressive than an Acacia.--Peta 02:50, 28 July 2006 (UTC)