Emma Lucy Braun (1889-1971) was an American botanist and ecologist, whose commitment to conservation led to the eventual preservation of over 10,000 acres in Ohio. Much of this land was carefully studied by Braun and her students, and the plant life cataloged for posterity. Braun’s devotion to land preservation was one of the pivotal influences in the developing field of ecology. Her extensive research on plants was a major impetus in establishing plant ecology as an academic discipline. Year 1889 (MDCCCLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday. ... Botany is the scientific study of plant life. ... Ecology is the branch of science that studies the distribution and abundance of living organisms, and the interactions between organisms and their environment. ... Official language(s) None Capital Columbus Largest city Columbus Largest metro area Cleveland Area  Ranked 34th  - Total 44,825 sq mi (116,096 km²)  - Width 220 miles (355 km)  - Length 220 miles (355 km)  - % water 8. ... The word ecology is often used in common parlance as a synonym for the natural environment or environmentalism. ...

Braun was born in Cincinnati. As a child, Braun and her sister, Annette Braun, were encouraged to learn the names of wildflowers in the woods around the city. This early exposure to the study of plants inspired both Braun sisters to pursue careers in nature. Annette Braun became an entomologist specializing in moths, while Lucy studied botany. She attended the University of Cincinnati, receiving a bachelor’s degree in 1910, a master’s degree in geology in 1912, and a Ph.D. degree in botany in 1914. Cincinnati, Ohio viewed from the SW, across the Ohio River from Kentucky. ... This article needs to be wikified. ... Entomology is the scientific study of insects. ... Pinguicula grandiflora Botany is the scientific study of plantlife. ... The University of Cincinnati is a state university located in Cincinnati, Ohio. ... 1910 (MCMX) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Sunday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar. ... 1912 (MCMXII) was a leap year starting on Monday in the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Tuesday in the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... 1914 (MCMXIV) was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ...

Lucy Braun spent her entire academic career at the University of Cincinnati, starting as an assistant in geology (1910-1913) and progressing to associate professor in botany (1927-1946). She was made a full professor in plant ecology in 1946. She held the latter position for only two years, retiring early so she could devote the remainder of her career to research involving field studies. After 1925, in fact, Braun logged about 105,000 km (about 65,000 mi) exploring the deciduous forests of the Eastern United States. Her sister accompanied Lucy on her travels; Annette studied moths while Lucy observed plants. This article includes a list of works cited but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. ... 1910 (MCMX) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Sunday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar. ... Year 1913 (MCMXIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar). ... 1927 (MCMXXVII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1946 (MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday. ... Deciduous means temporary or tending to fall off (deriving from the Latin word decidere, to fall off). ... This article is about forests as a massing of trees. ...

Lucy lived with her sister her entire life. They continued research work until the end of her life, the two setting up a home laboratory and an experimental garden.

Works

Braun produced over 180 works. An early study compared the plant life of the Cincinnati area in the 1920s and 1930s to plant life in the same area 100 years earlier. This work provided a model for analyzing the changes in a plant system over a specific time period, and was one of the first such studies in the United States.

From 1943 to 1967 Braun published several noteworthy books. An Annotated Catalog of the Spermatophytes of Kentucky appeared in 1943, and Deciduous Forests of Eastern North America was published in 1950. The latter work described in detail the trees and shrubs in the deciduous forests of Kentucky, Tennessee, Ohio, Virginia, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania. It is still used for reference today. The spermatophytes (also known as phanerogams) comprise those plants that produce seeds. ...

The Woody Plants of Ohio: Trees, Shrubs, and Weedy Climbers, Native, Naturalized, and Escaped; A Contribution Toward the Vascular Flora of Ohio (1961) and The Monocotyledoneae: Cat-tails to Orchids (1967) were published toward the end of her career. They were written as part of a project, undertaken by the Ohio Flora Committee of the Ohio Academy of Science, to do a comprehensive study of the vascular flora of Ohio. Braun also edited Wildflower, the journal of the Cincinnati chapter of the Wildflower Preservation Society, which she founded.

Honors

In 1933 the Ohio Academy of Science elected Braun its first woman president. The Ecological Society of America repeated the honor in 1950, making Braun its first woman president. Many other awards followed. The state of Ohio continues to add to the land trust first encouraged by Braun, thanks to money from the Dr. Lucy Braun Memorial Fund, which was established by the Cincinnati Museum of Natural History. Nine plant species from Kentucky are also named after Braun. The Ecological Society of America (ESA) is a professional society for ecologists located in the United States. ...

References

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