Plant Explorers Ynes Mexia’s Adventures and Botanical Legacy
"Once she realized such posterity was possible, it was almost as if Ynes was scrambling to ensure her legacy.
Today, fifty species have been named in her honor."
May 24, 1870
On this day, the Mexican-American botanist Ynes Mexia, was born.
When researching Ynes, I learned she loved having plants named in her honor.
Once she realized such posterity was possible, it was almost as if Ynes was scrambling to ensure her legacy.
Today, fifty species have been named in her honor.
Like all plant explorers, Ynes had her war stories.
The San Francisco Examiner once shared an article about Ynes that was memorably titled "She Laughs at Jungle Perils."
In it, they told how Ynes was trying to survive jungle life and ate a poisonous berry. The indigenous people offered a remedy:
"Sticking a chicken feather down her throat to coax the berries back up."
Incredibly, Ynes traveled the entire length of the Amazon River.
During one of her breaks from the call of the jungle, she climbed Mount McKinley.
Ynes suffered for her botanical passion. Once, she nearly died after falling from a cliff. But, her team lifted her spirits by naming two flowers after her: Mexianthus mexicanus mexicanas and Mimosa mexiae.
Ynes Mexia said,
"I don't think there is any place in the world where a woman can't venture."
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