- US botanist who
made important contributions as a teacher and administrator. Studying
plant genetics, she worked particularly on the genus Petunia.
Ferguson was born in Orleans, New York State, and educated at Wellesley
College and Cornell University, her studies interspersed with schoolteaching.
She taught at Wellesley 1893-1938, becoming professor 1906. Ferguson's
department became a major centre for botanical education.
Her early work focused on the life history and reproductive physiology
of a species of North American pine. Turning to Petunia, she analysed
the inheritance of features such as petal colour, flower pattern, and
pollen colour, and built up a large database of genetic information.
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