Ynés Enriquetta Julietta Mexía

Contributions and Distinctions

Mexía was a botanist and often regarded as the greatest collector of novel plant species of her era, discovering more than 500 new species of plants, 50 of which are named after her.

Biographical Sketch  

Ynés Enriquetta Julietta Mexía (1870-1938) spent much of her early life in Mexico before moving to San Francisco, where she joined environmental conservation organizations and subsequently developed an interest in botany. Mexia enrolled at UC Berkeley at the age of 51. She traveled all over the Americas, from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego, collecting plant species. She discovered more than 500 novel plant species in her 13-year career in botany. Her personal papers are preserved at the California Academy of Sciences as well as at the Bancroft Library located at UC Berkeley.