Mary and William Pool and their (mostly her) Malagasy lichen and plant collections

Abstract

William and Mary (née Crage) Pool spent the decade from 1865 to 1875 in Madagascar as missionaries employed by the London Missionary Society. For amusement, Mrs Pool collected lichen and plant specimens, which her husband eventually donated to Kew. Even though Mrs Pool collected most of these specimens, her husband invariably receives credit: his name appears on the labels of plants collected by her, and her collections are attributed to him in a number of contemporary publications.