Ruth Mason

Ruth Mason (7 November 1913 – 14 May 1990) was a New Zealand botanist specialising in the taxonomy and ecology of freshwater plants.

For the baseball player, see Ruth Mason (baseball).

Mason was born in Auckland, New Zealand, in 1913.[1][2][3] She was educated at the University of Auckland (then known as Auckland University College, part of the University of New Zealand) where she completed a Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science and Master of Science.[1]

In 1939, Mason was appointed to the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR) as an assistant botanist.[1] Mason was the first to record Wolffia in New Zealand (in 1949) and her most long-standing research interest was in the freshwater algae commonly known as stoneworts.[2] Her research also included establishing a seed herbarium, and identifying food preferences of moa through gizzard contents.

Due to her extensive fieldwork, Mason pioneered new techniques for plant preservation in the field.[2] Over the course of her career, Mason collected over 13,000 specimens.[2]

She worked at DSIR until her retirement in 1974.[2]

Lucy Moore described Hebe pauciramosa var. masoniae (now Veronica masoniae) and Thomas Cheeseman named Plantago masoniae (now treated as a synonym of P. triandra) in honour of Mason.[4][5]

Mason died in Christchurch in 1990.[1][2][3]

References
  1. Thomson, A. D. "Ruth Mason". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage.
  2. Moar, N. T. (1990). "Ruth Mason, M.Sc. 1913–1990". New Zealand Journal of Botany. 28 (4): 485–490. doi:10.1080/0028825X.1990.10412335.
  3. "Obituary" (PDF). New Zealand Botanical Society Newsletter. 20. June 1990. Retrieved 18 May 2017.
  4. Smith, Val (2015). Common Ground: Who's who in New Zealand botanical names. New Zealand: Wordsmith. p. 225. ISBN 9780473308476.
  5. Allan, H H (1961). Flora of New Zealand. Wellington, New Zealand: Government Printer. p. 783.


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