The origins of
the Josselyn Botanical Society
of Maine
Catherine “Kate” Furbish, co-founder. Image courtesy of Special Collections, Raymond H. Fogler Library, DigitalCommons@UMaine
Pedicularis furbishiae S. Watson. Image courtesy of Harvard University Herbaria & Libraries
M. L. Fernald, co-founder collecting specimens, 1904. Image courtesy of Harvard University Herbaria & Libraries
A brief history:
From The Boston Daily Globe (1872-1922): Feb 12, 1911; ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The Boston Globe p. 32:
During the summer of 1895 people in Maine interested in botany met in Portland and organized a society for the promotion of the study of plant structure, the function of their parts, their classification, and the terms used in the description. The suggestion was first made by Mr H K Morrill of Gardner, and was put into action by Prof M.L. Fernald of Harvard Unlversity, who had been engaged in the re-vision of the Portland catalog of Maine plants. The name decided upon for the organization was The Josselyn Botanical Society of Maine. This was done In honor of John Josselyn, who spent part of the 17th Century at Black Point, Scarboro [sic] studying the plant life of this new-found world.
The Josselyn Botanical Society was founded in 1895 for the study of plants in Maine and the dissemination of that information. The Society was named for John Josselyn, 17th century naturalist, who was the first to accurately record Maine's plant life.
… on the fifteenth of August (1663) I arrived at Scarborow [sic], the habitation of my beloved Brother, being about a hundred leagues to the Eastward of Boston; here I resided eight years, and made it my business to discover all along the Natural, Physical, and Chyrugical [sic] Rarities of this New-Found World. — John Josselyn
Josselyn is most known for the publication in 1672 of New Englands Rarities Discovered: in Birds, Beasts, Fishes, Serpents, and Plants of that Country.
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