240:. In 1754, a notable gathering with Alexander Garden and William Bartram sparked Jane's interests even more and allowed the fruition of the collaboration and friendship between Jane and Garden to flourish. Garden, an active collector of his local flora, later corresponded with Jane, exchanged seeds and plants with her, and instructed her in the preservation of butterflies. Of his daughter, Cadwallader wrote in a 1755 letter to Dr. John Frederic Gronovius, a colleague of Linnaeus, that she possessed "a natural inclination to reading and a natural curiosity for natural philosophy and natural history." He wrote that Jane was already writing descriptions of plants using Linnaeus' classification and taking impressions of leaves using a press. In this letter, Cadwallader sought to earn her a position with Dr. Gronovius sending seeds or samples.
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of leaves and these drawings were only ink outlines colored in with neutral tint. However, their analysis did say that her descriptions were "excellent-full , careful, and evidently taken from living specimens." Colden's descriptions include morphological details of flower, fruit, and plant structure, as well as ways on how to use certain plants for medicinal or culinary purposes. Some of the descriptions include the month of flowering and the habitat they are found in. Records were written in a legible, consistent hand writing with neatly underlined headings and subheadings. Latin and common names for the plants are given.
272:
seeds and plants with other plant collectors in the
American colonies and in Europe. These rounds with the Natural History Circle encouraged Jane to become a botanist. Through her father, she met and corresponded with many leading naturalists of the time, including Carolus Linnaeus. One of her descriptions of a new plant, which she herself called Fibraurea, was forwarded to Linnaeus with the suggestion that he should call it Coldenella, but Linnaeus refused and called it Helleborus (now
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since the mid-1800s after passing through the hands of several collectors. Ricketts and Hall (1963) published transcripts of 57 of Colden's plant descriptions with the drawings and index of the original manuscript. They also analyzed and evaluated Colden's work. Her manuscript drawing consisted only
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method. I believe she is the first lady that has attempted anything of this nature." In this instance Colden was recognized as what she is known today by the
Dictionary of American Biography, the first female botanist in America. Colden participated in the Natural History Circle where she exchanged
218:
and became involved in the politics and management of New York after arriving in the city from
Scotland in 1718, and Alice Christy Colden, the daughter of a clergyman and had been brought up in Scotland in an intellectual atmosphere. Mrs. Colden is often referred to as "the capable instructress of
227:
stimulated the botanical interests of both
Cadwallader and Jane Colden. Cadwalleder Colden had been the first to apply the system of botanical classification developed by the Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus (Linnaean Taxonomy) to an American plant collection and he translated the text of Linnaeus’
231:
Due to the lack of schools and gardens around the area, her father wrote to Peter
Collinson, where he inquired about getting sent "the best cuts or pictures of for which purpose I would buy for her Tourneforts Institutes and Morison’s Historia plantarum, or if you know any better books for this
373:
In her section "Observat" (now known as observations) she pointing out to
Linnaeus that "there are some plants of Clematis that bear only male flowers, this I have observed with such care that there can be no doubt about it". This shows the long hours she spent doing observations, which were
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purpose as you are a better judge than I am I will be obliged to you in making the choice" in order for Jane to continue her studies of botanical sciences. Besides obtaining libraries and samples for his daughter, Cadwallader also surrounded her with like-minded scientists, including
958:
Botanic
Manuscript of Jane Colden – First Woman Botanist of Colonial America, Published by the Garden Club of Orange and Dutchess Counties, New York. Produced by Chanticleer Press, New York. April 1963. Includes reproduction of Manuscript in the British
374:
consistent, accurate and replicable. Jane Colden documented her findings of an entirely new flora for her countrymen and for eager
Europeans, and it is with this in mind that we can fully understand her delight in botany and appreciate her contribution.
400:
Colden married
Scottish widower Dr. William Farquhar on March 12 1759. She died seven years later at the age of 41; in the same year her only child died. There is no evidence that she continued her botanical work after her marriage.
260:, doing ink drawings of 340. For many drawings she wrote additional botanical details as well as culinary, folklore or medicinal uses for the plant, including information from indigenous people. On January 20, 1756,
431:, near where she lived and worked. It was maintained by volunteers and, despite individual efforts, reached a poor state of maintenance in the 1990s. In 2014 a project was started to restore the garden.
423:
The Jane Colden
Memorial Garden was constructed in 1957 in her home town by the Garden Clubs of Orange and Dutchess Counties containing species that she had described. This was at what is now
345:
Colden's manuscript, in which she had ink drawing of leaves and description of the plants, was never named. Colden's original manuscript describing the flora of New York has been held in the
341:
Jane Colden's sketches of leaves from New York State Plants. No. 123. Spiraea; No. 124. Lycopus Water Hoarhound; No. 125. Mimulus; No. 126. Lobelia'Red C'ardinal' No. 127. Sonchus.
329:
Biologist and anthropologist Brittany Kenyon-Flatt has said "Had she not been a woman, Jane Colden would likely be one of the most famous early American botanists."
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Valley, and classifying them according to the system developed by Linnaeus. She developed a technique for making ink impressions of leaves, and was also a skilled
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stated "she deserves to be celebrated". Contemporary scholarship maintains that she was the first female botanist working in America, which ignores, among others,
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in each bundle, and the three oval-shap'd bodies on the seat of the flower, together with the seat to which the seeds adhere, distinguish this plant from the
997:
436:
875:
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1002:
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289:. In her manuscript she wrote that this plant was without an Order under the Linnaean system. In her description Colden wrote, " The three chives
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her children." She was educated at home and her father provided her with botanical training following the new classification system developed by
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770:
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that "Our friend Colden's daughter has, in a scientific manner, sent over several sheets of plants, very curiously anatomized after this
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in 1843. Although not acknowledged in contemporary botanical publications, she wrote a number of letters resulting in botanist
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Selections from the scientific correspondence of Cadwallader Colden with Gronovius, Linnaeus, Collinson, and other naturalists
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In spite of all of Colden's accomplishments, she has never been formally honored by having a taxon named after her. The genus
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760:
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Her manuscript can be purchased on Amazon or can be borrowed from many libraries across North America, Europe and the UK.
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stated that another female botanist before her was the first American lady to illustrate the science of botany.
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Visitors to her family home noted that Colden made excellent cheese and she recorded them in the document
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Cadwallader Colden; Peter Collinson; Asa Gray; Johannes Fredericus Gronovius; Carl von Linné (1843).
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788:"The Description of a New Plant; by Alexander Garden, Physician at Charleston in South Carolina"
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191:
766:
739:
389:. He wrote in Latin "Flora Nov.- Eboracensis," translated as "Flora of New York," in English.
584:
Gronim, Sara Stidstone (2007). "What Jane Knew: A Woman Botanist in the Eighteenth Century".
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252:, compiling specimens and information on more than 400 species of plants from the lower
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317:, and was entitled to its use because of the conventions of botanical nomenclature.
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762:
Biographical Dictionary of American and Canadian Naturalists and Environmentalists
851:"Centuries Later, America's First Female Botanist Lives On in a Community Garden"
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630:"Centuries Later, America's First Female Botanist Lives On in a Community Garden"
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Americans did not become aware of Colden's manuscript until 75 years later when
257:
697:
Vail, Anna Murray (1 January 1907). "Jane Colden, an Early New York Botanist".
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has not. " However, the name was not allowed because an English botanist named
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151:. Colden was respected as a botanist by many prominent botanists including
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322:
124:
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73:
710:
529:
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Smith, Beatrice (July 1988). "Jane Colden and Her Botanic Manuscript".
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Some species she went on to illustrate, press and describe included:
521:
738:(1st ed.). College Station: Texas A & M University Press.
167:. Colden is most famous for her untitled manuscript, housed in the
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249:
190:
825:"Meet Jane Colden, the 18th century botanist snubbed by Linnaeus"
123:, described as the "first botanist of her sex in her country" by
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Smith, B . S. 1988. Jane Colden (1724–1766) and her manuscript.
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Women in the field : America's pioneering women naturalists
549:, Ronald Press Company, Library of Congress Card Number 61-18435
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Ambrosia artemisifolia, Monarda didyma, and Clematis virginiana.
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https://www.sierracollege.edu/ejournals/jscnhm/v6n1/colden.html
223:. The family's move to a 3,000-acre estate (1,200 ha) in
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of plant identification to American flora, for which botanist
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Women in the Field: America's pioneering women nauturalists
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Harrison, Mary. “Jane Colden: Colonial American Botanist.”
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In 1753 Colden discovered the plant which is now known as
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The title page added to Colden's manuscript in 1801 by
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Colden's manuscript has a title page added in 1801 by
932:— College Station: Texas A & M University Press.
654:
Journal of the Sierra College Natural History Museum
765:. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. pp. 160–162.
446:is used to indicate this person as the author when
248:Between 1753 and 1758 Colden catalogued New York's
183:, including ink drawings of 340 different species.
95:
87:
79:
69:
57:
28:
21:
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119:(March 27, 1724 – March 10, 1766) was an American
285:and proposed a name after the prominent botanist
792:Essays and Observations, Physical and Literary
876:"Knox's Headquarters State Historic Site, NY"
381:, who was a professor at the universities of
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299:; and I think, not only make it a different
823:Kenyon-Flatt, Brittany (10 February 2021).
937:“Jane Colden: Colonial American Botanist.”
171:, in which she describes the flora of the
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16:18th-century American botanist (1724-1766)
880:The Palisades Historic Sites Conservancy
942:, vol. 55, no. 2, 1995, pp. 19–26.
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425:Knox's Headquarters State Historic Site
1008:18th-century American women scientists
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311:had already named the Cape jasmine as
849:Imbler, Sabrina (20 September 2019).
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7:
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565:. Printed by B.L. Hamlen. p. 22
303:, but likewise makes an order which
998:People from Orange County, New York
947:American National Biography Online
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810:"America's First Female Botanist"
406:Memorandum of Cheese made in 1756
1003:Scientists from New York (state)
945:Shapiro, B. 2000. Colden, Jane.
973:18th-century American botanists
906:International Plant Names Index
83:First American female botanist"
759:Sterling, Keir Brooks (1997).
628:Imbler, Sabrina (2019-09-20).
1:
993:People from colonial New York
928:Bonta, Marcia Myers. 1991 —
465:Timeline of women in science
545:Makers of American Botany,
326:is named after her father.
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953:American Journal of Botany
786:Garden, Alexander (1756).
586:Journal of Women's History
510:American Journal of Botany
418:Almira Hart Lincoln Phelps
332:
379:Ernst Gottfried Baldinger
197:Ernst Gottfried Baldinger
135:of her work applying the
988:American women botanists
656:, vol. 6, no. 1, 2015,
216:University of Edinburgh
598:10.1353/jowh.2007.0058
367:Erythronium americanum
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199:
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206:, the fifth child of
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1013:Deaths in childbirth
886:on February 16, 2018
547:Harry Baker Humphrey
314:Gardenia jasminoides
282:Hypericum virginicum
228:books into English.
145:Maria Sibylla Merian
107:Alice Christy Colden
728:Bonta, Marcia Myers
437:author abbreviation
355:Phytolacca decandra
333:Colden's manuscript
274:Coptis groenlandica
214:who trained at the
202:Colden was born in
682:, 1995, pp. 19–26.
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208:Cadwallader Colden
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103:Cadwallader Colden
772:978-0-313-23047-9
745:978-0-89096-489-7
680:Arnoldia Magazine
149:Catherine Jérémie
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516:(7): 1090–1096.
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363:Polygala senega
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137:Linnaean system
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80:Known for
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65:(aged 41)
61:March 10, 1766
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39:March 27, 1724
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955:75:1090–1096
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888:. Retrieved
884:the original
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832:. Retrieved
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705:(2): 21–34.
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359:P. americana
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266:John Bartram
254:Hudson River
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210:, who was a
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63:(1766-03-10)
983:1766 deaths
978:1724 births
834:15 February
569:2 September
429:New Windsor
258:illustrator
131:writing to
117:Jane Colden
23:Jane Colden
967:Categories
639:2020-04-30
471:References
309:John Ellis
296:hypericums
234:Peter Kalm
187:Early life
179:region of
129:John Ellis
70:Occupation
35:1724-03-27
890:March 17,
860:21 August
606:144291310
476:Citations
264:wrote to
212:physician
940:Arnoldia
730:(1991).
711:40594571
459:See also
323:Coldenia
305:Linnaeus
177:Newburgh
125:Asa Gray
121:botanist
74:Botanist
47:New York
959:Museum.
923:Sources
699:Torreya
530:2443778
387:Marburg
175:in the
96:Parents
798:: 1–5.
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742:
709:
604:
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448:citing
442:Colden
412:Legacy
244:Career
163:, and
88:Spouse
707:JSTOR
602:S2CID
526:JSTOR
357:(now
301:genus
250:flora
236:and
892:2019
862:2020
836:2021
767:ISBN
740:ISBN
571:2020
385:and
383:Jena
291:only
58:Died
29:Born
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