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Flora Patterson: Ensuring That No Knowledge Is Ever Lost, Page 1 of 2
< Previous page Next page > /docserver/preview/fulltext/10.1128/9781555819545/9781555819538_Chap24-1.gif /docserver/preview/fulltext/10.1128/9781555819545/9781555819538_Chap24-2.gifAbstract:
Flora Patterson (1847–1928), the first woman mycologist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), developed the National Fungus Collection from a small collection to the largest of its kind in the world. During her decades of service at the USDA, she amassed over 90,000 specimens. Hired at the turn of the 20th century, she established a system for plant inspections and quarantine prior to the national Plant Quarantine Act of 1912. She and her team identified early specimens of several plant-pathogenic fungi, including those causing chestnut blight, potato wart disease, and white pine blister rust. She also published research on various plant pathogens, wrote mushroom guides, and identified mushrooms for the general public. Her work varied from testing methods for fumigating pineapples against postharvest rot to inspecting the gifted Japanese cherry trees sent to Washington, DC. Additionally, Patterson volunteered for multiple charitable and academic organizations in her community.