Jane Colden
Personal Information
Born: 1724
Died: 1766
Country of Birth: USA
Nationality: USA
Ethnicity: White
Education
home schooled by parents
"She wrote the following concerning her discovery of Hypericum virginicum, " The three chives only in each bundle, and the three oval-shap'd bodies on the seat of the flower, together with the seat to which the seeds adhere, distinguish this plant from the hypericums; and I think, not only make it a different genus, but likewise makes an order which Linnaeus has not. " (Wikipedia); "
— Jane Colden
Professional Life
Field of Study: Botany
Institution/Corporation: None
Degrees & Memberships: Member: Natural History Circle
Awards & Achievements
Awards: None found
Achievements: catalogued over 300 species of plants in NY lower Hudson River Valley 1753-58; developed a technique for making ink impressions of leaves & was a skilled illustrator while never receiving any formal training; was described as the "first botanist of her sex in her country" by Asa Gray in 1843; experimented with the cultivation of subtropical plants after trading seeds with Alexander Garden
was educated at home by her parents & Father, Cadwallader Colden, provided her botanical training based on the new classification system developed by Carl Linnaeu (Linnaean Taxonomy)
corresponded & traded seeds with botanist Alexander Garden who also educated her in the preservation of butterflies
her involvement in the Natural History Circle enabled her to exchange ideas, seeds & plants with botanists in the colonies & Europe
she met several naturalists of her time, including Linnaeus, through her Father
never had a taxon named after her even though she is thought to have described at least 5 types of flora never described before & the genus Coldenia is named after her Father
married in 1759 & conducted no further botanical studies
reportedly made excellent cheese & recorded them in a document "Memorandum of Cheese made in 1756"
The Jane colden Memorial Garden was constructed in her home town in 1957 & consisted of only flora she described, it is now known as Knox's Headquarters State Historic Site in New Windsor but it fell into disrepair & in 2014 a program was started to restore it but it is not yet completed as it relies solely on donations & volunteer work
it has reportedly taken over 2 years to clear brambles from the Garden
did her research on the 3000 acre farm her Father established in 1728 in a wilderness area 10 miles west of Newburgh NY he named Coldengham
a limited edition of 57 of her drawings & descriptions was published in 1963 by the Garden Club of Orange & Duchess Counties, NY
no known paintings of her exist although several of her mother, sister & 2 female cousins have been mislabel as her over the years
her work has been largely ignored & she has never been given credit for her discoveries & identification of new specimens