Appeal to identify ‘La Botaniste’ who slipped from history
Who was the mysterious Isabella Allen and what was her contribution to 19th Century botanical science? …
“I think she clearly is a keen botanist because pressed in a number of the pages are wild flowers,” says Fiona, listing kidney vetch, cranesbill, louse wort and sow thistle, among others. “They’re wild flowers when you’re out on a botanising trip you would have picked up, identified with the help of the book and pressed.”