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This is the Passion Flower, Passiflora sanguinolenta by Matilda Smith. Plate from Curtis's Botanical Magazine, 1900. The director of Kew Gardens was Joseph Dalton Hooker, the son of William
Jackson Hooker. His daughter Harriet was a botanical illustrator but he
also brought in second cousin Matilda Smith to train her as an illustrator.
She stayed for over 40 years producing over 2300 plates. Her particular
skill was in recreating credible drawings of plants from dried up specimens
brought in from the field or in herbariums. She also produced a comprehensive
survey of the plants from New Zealand. |