Helen Joan Hewson

Helen Joan Hewson was an Australian botanist and botanical illustrator. In addition to collecting and describing flora, she is known as the author and illustrator of Australia: 300 Years of Botanical Illustration.

Biography

Hewson was born at Benalla, Victoria on 24 June 1938. She grew up on a farm, where her interest in botany was sparked. She graduated from the University of Sydney in 1969 with a PhD for her thesis, "The cytology and taxonomy of the family aneuraceae in Australia and New Guinea". She later completed a BA at the then Canberra College of Advanced Education in 1985.
Over her career, Hewson described 1 family, 2 genera and 54 species. Plants named in her honour include Jungermannia hewsoniae, Plagiochila hewsoniana, Fossombronia hewsonii and Cassinia hewsoniae.

Selected publications

Death and legacy

Hewson in Canberra died on 29 October 2007.
The Dr. Helen Hewson Award for Traditional Botanical Art was established and first awarded by the Wildlife and Botanical Artist Association in Canberra in 2007.