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Dorothy G. Downie

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Dorothy G. Downie
Born(1894-09-16)16 September 1894
Edinburgh
Died22 August 1960(1960-08-22) (aged 65)
NationalityBritish
Scientific career
FieldsBotany
Author abbrev. (botany)Downie

Dorothy G. Downie (1894–1960) was a Scottish botanist and forester. She is known for her research on the fungal symbionts and nutritional requirements of orchids.[1][2][3][4]

Biography

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Dorothy G. Downie graduated from the University of Edinburgh in 1917 with a B.S. in science and in 1919 with a B.S. in forestry. She was the first woman to receive a degree in forestry from the University of Edinburgh.[1] From 1919 to 1920 she studied at Moray House Training College, where she qualified in professional training for teachers.[5] From 1920 to 1925 she worked at the University of Aberdeen as an assistant to William Grant Craib.[1]

In 1925 she received a Carnegie scholarship and became a graduate student at the University of Chicago. There she received in 1928 a PhD in botany with a dissertation on the morphology of the male gametophyte of Microcycas calocoma. In 1927 she went to Cuba, where she collected cycads by riding on horseback through the Cordillera de Guaniguanico.[5]

At the University of Aberdeen, Downie worked as an assistant from 1928 to 1929, a lecturer from 1929 to 1949, and a reader from 1949 to 1960.[1] In 1960 she retired due to a progressive disease and died in August of that year.[5]

Selected publications

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  • Downie, DG (1925). "Contributions to the flora of Siam: Additamentum XVI". Kew Bulletin. 1925 (9): 367–394. doi:10.2307/4107477. ISSN 0075-5982. JSTOR 4107477.
  • Downie, D.G. (1925). "Contributions to the flora of Siam: Additamentum XVII". Kew Bulletin. 1925 (10): 402–423. doi:10.2307/4115102. JSTOR 4115102.
  • Downie, DG (1928). "Male Gametophyte of the Microcycas calocoma". Botanical Gazette. 85 (4): 437–450. doi:10.1086/333855. ISSN 0006-8071. S2CID 83650234.
  • Downie, DG (1943). "Notes on the germination of Corallorhiza innata". Transactions of the Botanical Society of Edinburgh. 33 (4). Taylor & Francis Group: 380–382. doi:10.1080/13594864309441391.

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Haines, Catharine M. C.; Steven, Helen M. (2001). "Downie, Dorothy G.". International Women in Science: A Biographical Dictionary to 1950. Bloomsbury Academic. p. 87. ISBN 9781576070901.
  2. ^ Downie, D. G. (1940). "On the Germination and Growth of Goodyera repens". Transactions of the Botanical Society of Edinburgh. 33: 36–51. doi:10.1080/13594864009441368.
  3. ^ Downie, D. G. (1959). "The Mycorrhiza of Orchis Purpurella". Transactions of the Botanical Society of Edinburgh. 38 (1–4): 16–29. doi:10.1080/03746605909469449.
  4. ^ Downie, D. G. (1957). "Corticium solani—an Orchid Endophyte". Nature. 179 (4551): 160. Bibcode:1957Natur.179..160D. doi:10.1038/179160a0.
  5. ^ a b c Matthews, J.R. (1961). "Obituary: Dr. Dorothy G. Downie". Transactions of the Botanical Society of Edinburgh. 39 (2): 245–246. doi:10.1080/13594866109441707. ISSN 0372-0578.
  6. ^ International Plant Names Index.  Downie.