Ruth Mason

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

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

Biography[]

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]

In 2017, Mason was selected as one of the Royal Society Te Apārangi's "150 women in 150 words", celebrating the contributions of women to knowledge in New Zealand.[6]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c d Thomson, A. D. "Ruth Mason". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f 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. ^ Jump up to: a b "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.
  6. ^ "Ruth Mason". Royal Society Te Apārangi. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
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