Eileen Adelaide Bruce

Eileen Adelaide Bruce (15 February 1905 Petersham, London – 6 October 1955 London)^ was an English taxonomist and botanist. She worked at Kew Gardens and at the South African National Herbarium in Pretoria. She researched a number of plant families, in particular the Labiatae, a revision of the genus Kniphofia, and the families of Pedaliaceae and Loganiaceae.

Eileen Adelaide Bruce
Born	15 February 1905 Petersham, London
Died	6 October 1955 Kingston-upon-Thames, London

Early life and education

Bruce was born in Petersham on 15 February 1905, and attended Francis Holland School in London.^[1][2] She kept a framed family tree in her house showing her descent from Robert the Bruce.^[2] After finishing school, she earned a BSc from the University College of London, studying under Professor Edward Salisbury.^[2]

Career

She joined the staff of Kew Gardens in 1930, where she worked as an Assistant Botanist, working on the phanerogams from tropical Africa.^[2] In 1941, after the start of World War II, she enlisted in the Auxiliary Territorial Service, was commissioned and went on to serve in the Anti-Aircraft Command. After the end of hostilities, she was appointed to the South African National Herbarium in Pretoria in 1946.^[3] During her six years there she worked on a number of plant families, in particular the Labiatae and also on a revision of the genus Kniphofia. Her work was published in Bothalia and Flowering Plants of Africa.^[2]

In the early 1950s, she returned to Kew as a Scientific Officer in the Herbarium, working on the families of Pedaliaceae and Loganiaceae, contributing to the Flora of Tropical East Africa and the Kew Bulletin.^[4][5]

Death and legacy

After being diagnosed with cancer in 1954, she received treatment and continued working. In October 1955, she underwent an operation, after which she died.^[2]

The Archives of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, hold some of her correspondence to E Milne-Redhead and N D Simpson, as well as her notebook and papers on a 1937 botanical tour to the Corsican Mountains.