Biography and studies of Fanny Andrews Shepard: Türkiye’s first female plant collector

Abstract

Fanny Andrews Shepard was an American medical doctor who lived in Gaziantep (Türkiye) between 1882-1915. F.A. Shepard collected plants from Gaziantep and its environs, from the Nur and Amanos Mountains. F.A. Shepard, together with her husband Dr. Frederick Douglas Shepard, she worked as a faculty member in the Department of Medicine at Aintab Central Türkiye College. F.A. Shepard was the first female lecturer and plant collector to give Medical Botany lessons in Turkey and create a collection of Turkish plants. F.A. Shepard discovered nine endemic plant species in the region during her field trips and brought them to the scientific world. She collected and sent approximately 350 plant specimens to Dr. George Edward Post, a botanical faculty member at the American University of Beirut. Dr. George Edward Post (1838-1909) published these plants in Flora of Syria, Palaestine and Sinai and Plantae Postianum. He named 17 of the plants which he published, after Shepard. In this study, the biography of Fanny Andrews Shepard, who lived in Gaziantep between 1882-1915, the collection she created with the plant specimens she collected, her contributions to the Flora of Gaziantep and the current situation of the plants were investigated.

Keywords

• Botanist
• flora
• Gaziantep
• herbarium

Türkiye’nin ilk kadın bitki koleksiyoncusu Fanny Andrews Shepard’ın hayatı ve çalışmaları

Abstract

Fanny Andrews Shepard, 1882-1915 yılları arasında Gaziantep (Türkiye)’te yaşamış Amerikalı bir tıp doktorudur. F.A. Shepard, Gaziantep ve çevresinden, Nur ve Amanos Dağlarından bitki toplamıştır. F.A. Shepard, eşi Dr. Frederick Dauglas Shepard ile birlikte Antep Merkezi Türkiye Koleji (Aintab Central Turkey College) Tıp Bölümünde öğretim üyesi olarak çalışmışlardır. F.A. Shepard, Türkiye’de Tıbbi Botanik dersi veren ve Türkiye bitkilerinden bir koleksiyon oluşturan ilk kadın öğretim üyesi ve bitki toplayıcısıdır. F.A. Shepard arazi gezilerinde bölgede dokuz endemik bitki türü keşfetmiş ve bilim dünyasına kazandırmıştır. Topladığı 350’ye yakın bitki örneğini Beyrut Amerikan Üniversitesinde görev yapan botanik öğretim üyesi Dr. George Edward Post’a göndermiştir. Dr. George Edward Post (1838-1909) incelediği bitkileri Flora of Syria, Palaestine and Sinai ve Plantae Postianum isimli eserlerinde yayınlamıştır. Yayınladığı bitkilerin 17 tanesine Shepard’ın adını vermiştir. Bu çalışmada, 1882-1915 tarihleri arasında Gaziantep’te yaşamış olan Fanny Andrews Shepard’ın biyografisi, topladığı bitki örnekleriyle oluşturduğu koleksiyon, Gaziantep Florasına katkıları ve bitkilerin günümüzdeki durumu araştırılmıştır.

Keywords

• Botanikçi
• flora
• Gaziantep
• herbarium

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