Ynes enriqueta julietta mexia biography books

Mexican-American botanist (–)

Ynés Enriquetta Julietta Mexía (May 24 – July 12 ) was a Mexican-American botanist notable for her extensive collection of novel specimens of flora and plants originating from sites in Colombia, Mexico, and Peru.

She discovered a new genus of Asteraceae, known after her as Mexianthus, and accumulated over , specimens for botanical study^[1] over the course of a career spanning 16 years enduring challenges in the field that included poisonous berries, dangerous terrain, bogs and earthquakes for the sake of her research.^[2]

Biography

Ynés Mexía was born on May 24, , in Washington, D.C., to Enrique Mexia, a Mexican diplomat, and Sarah Wilmer Mexía.^[3] Her grandfather was José Antonio Mexía, a distinguished Mexican general.^[1] Sarah Wilmer was related to Samuel Eccleston, the fifth Catholic Archbishop of Baltimore.^[4]

In , her father returned to Mexico, and her mother moved Ynés and