Alberta Mennega

Alberta Maria Wilhelmina "Bep" Mennega (July 29, 1914 – December 20, 2009) was a Dutch botanist renowned for her studies into the anatomy of wood and plant systematics. The standard author abbreviation Mennega is used to indicate this person as the author when citing a botanical name.[1]

Alberta Mennega
BornAugust 14, 1912
Nijmegen
DiedDecember 20, 2009 (2009-12-21) (aged 97)
Doorn
NationalityDutch
Alma materUtrecht University
Scientific career
FieldsBotany
InstitutionsUtrecht University
Author abbrev. (botany)Mennega

Biography

Mennega studied biology at the Utrecht University, earning her Ph.D in 1938.[2] In 1946, she accepted a position at the Utrecht University Botanic Gardens. The university was in need of people who were able to assess the quality of imported wood, and although her educational background was in physiology, she was retrained in wood anatomy.[3] While working at the university, she started a world renowned wood collection.[4] Mennega's research also contributed significately to the flora of Suriname.[5]

Mennega retired from the university in 1977. In 1988, she founded the Alberta Mennega Foundation as a scholarship for students and researchers in the field of botany, prioritizing the funding of fieldwork in the tropics.[4]

Botanist Erik Albert Mennega was Mennega's nephew.[2]

Honors

In 2007, Mennega was awarded as a knight of the Order of Orange-Nassau.[4]

The genus Mennegoxylon and the species Salacia mennegana were named in her honor.[6][7]

References
  1. IPNI.  Mennega.
  2. Stafleu, F. A., Cowan, R. S., & Mennega, E. A. (1979). Taxonomic literature: A selective guide to botanical publications and collections with dates, commentaries and types. Utrecht: Bohn, Scheltema & Holkema.
  3. Mennega, A.M.W. (2005). "Wood anatomy of the subfamily Euphorbioideae". IAWA Journal. 26 (1): 1–68.
  4. Alberta Mennega Stichting (Dutch)
  5. Waard, J. Florschütz-De (1966). Flora of Suriname. Brill Archive.
  6. Hueber, F.M.; E.M.V. Nambudiri; W.D. Tidwell; E.F. Wheeler (1991). "An Eocene fossil tree with cambial variant wood structure" (PDF). Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology. Amsterdam: Elsevier Science Publishers B.V. 68: 257–267. doi:10.1016/0034-6667(91)90027-z.
  7. Lombardi, J. A. (2009). Three New Species of Salacia from Mesoamerica (Celastraceae, Salacioideae). Novon: A Journal for Botanical Nomenclature, 19(3), 372-379. doi:10.3417/2007005
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