Aimée Antoinette Camus | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1 May 1879 |
| Died | 17 April 1965 (aged 85) |
| Citizenship | French |
| Known for | Work with orchids |
| Awards | Knight of the Legion of Honour (1936) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Botany |
| Author abbrev. (botany) | A.Camus |
Aimée Antoinette Camus (1 May 1879 – 17 April 1965) was a French botanist. She was best known for her study of orchids and oaks. Camus also has the legacy of authoring the second highest number of land plant species among female scientists, in total naming 677 species.[1]
Biography
Camus was the daughter of Edmond Gustave Camus, also a botanist, and was born in L'Isle-Adam, about 50 kilometres north of Paris. Under her father's influence, she specialized in the study of orchids and the anatomy of the plant and worked for some time with other professionals such as Paul Bergon (1863-1912) and Paul Henri Lecomte (1856-1934). She was especially close to her sister, the painter Blanche-Augustine Camus (1881-1968).[2] She also produced a major treatment of the oaks and stone oaks, providing the first comprehensive systematic treatment of the latter genus.[3]
Collaboration with the Paris Natural History Museum
From 1922, Camus voluntarily collaborated for more than 30 years as a free worker for the Paris Natural History Museum and her numerous publications are part of the Museum's collections. According to the comments made on her Legion of Honor file, she contributed greatly to the influence and reputation of the museum in the world.
Aimée Antoinette Camus died on17 April 1965 at her home in the 15th arrondissement of Paris at the age of 85.
Honors and awards
- Camus was twice laureate of the Institute (academy of sciences) in 1906 and in 1930
- Camus was made a Knight of the Legion of Honor on 3 May 1936 in Paris[4]
Selected work
Camus published the work L'Iconographie des Orchidées d´Europe et du Bassin Méditerranéen.
She gave the name of Neohouzeaua to a genus of seven tropical bamboo, in honour of the lifelong work that Jean Houzeau de Lehaie had devoted to the understanding of the botany and propagation of bamboo in Europe and Africa.
References
- ↑ Lindon, Heather L.; Gardiner, Lauren M.; Brady, Abigail; Vorontsova, Maria S. (5 May 2015). "Fewer than three percent of land plant species named by women: Author gender over 260 years". Taxon. 64 (2): 209–215. doi:10.12705/642.4.
- ↑ Female Artists in History: Blanche Augustine Camus (French painter)
- ↑ Camus, Aimee (1948). "Les chenes. Monographie des genres Quercus et Lithocarpus, Atlas vol. 3". Encyclopedie Économique de Sylviculture. 7: 152–165.
- ↑ "Recherche - Base de données Léonore". www.leonore.archives-nationales.culture.gouv.fr (in French). Retrieved 2023-11-30.
- ↑ International Plant Names Index. A.Camus.