{{short description|British botanist (1892-1968)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} '''Vera Higgins''' (1892–1968) was a British botanist, author, translator and botanical illustrator known for being an authority on succulents and cacti, particularly ''Crassulaceae''.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hadfield |first1=Miles |last2=Harling |first2=Robert |last3=Highton |first3=Leonie |title=British Gardeners: A Biographical Dictionary |date=1980 |publisher=Zwemmer Books |isbn=9780302005415 |page=149 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=99ALAQAAMAAJ |access-date=3 October 2018 |language=en }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |title=Obituary: Vera Higgins, M.A., F.L.S., V.M.H. |journal=Gardeners' Chronicle, Horticultural Trade Journal |date=1968 |page=27 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QWMqAQAAIAAJ |access-date=3 October 2018 |publisher=Haymarket Publishing |language=en }}</ref> She graduated from Cambridge University and worked at the National Physical Laboratory. Higgins was the first editor of The Cactus Journal of the Cactus & Succulent Society of Great Britain, beginning in 1931 and continuing until 1939 when the Society closed because of World War II. She then edited the Journal of the Royal Horticultural Society between 1939 - 1945. She was elected a fellow of the Linnean Society of London in 1945 and was awarded the Royal Horticultural Society Victoria Medal of Honour in 1946.<ref name= GW>{{cite book |title=Gardening Women: Their Stories From 1600 to the Present |first=Catherine |last=Horwood }}</ref><ref name="Graptosedum">{{cite web |title=''Graptosedum'' 'Vera Higgins' |url=https://www.smgrowers.com/products/plants/plantdisplay.asp?plant_id=2141#:~:text=It%20is%20actually%20an%20intergeneric,debate%20on%20which%20is%20correct. |website=San Marcos Growers |access-date=3 March 2022 }}</ref><ref name="Linnean Soc">{{cite web |title=Fellow Records |url=http://www2.calmview.co.uk/Linnean/Record.aspx?src=CalmView.Catalog&id=CR%2f158&pos=1 |website=The Linnean Society |access-date=3 March 2022 }}</ref>
Her drawings are housed at the Royal Horticultural Society.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Desmond |first1=Ray |title=Dictionary Of British And Irish Botanists And Horticulturists Including plant collectors, flower painters and garden designers |date=1994 |publisher=CRC Press |isbn=9780850668438 |page=340 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=thmPzIltAV8C&pg=PA340 |access-date=3 October 2018 |language=en }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Foster |first1=J. |last2=Sheppard |first2=J. |title=British Archives: A Guide to Archive Resources in the UK |date=2016 |publisher=Springer |isbn=9781349652280 |page=437 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FpwYDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA437 |access-date=3 October 2018 |language=en }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Higgins, Vera (1892-1968) Botanist |url=http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/c/F43013 |website=discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk |publisher=The National Archives |access-date=3 October 2018 }}</ref> {{botanist|V.Higgins|inline=yes}}
Among the books that she wrote and illustrated are:
* ''Naming of Plants'' by Vera Higgins 1937 E. A. Arnold and Co. * ''Study of Cacti'' by Vera Higgins 1950 Blandford Press * ''Rock gardens and their plants'' by Wilhelm Schacht, translated and edited by Vera Higgins. 1963 Blandford Press * ''Succulents in Cultivation'' by Vera Higgins 1964 Blandford Press
Plant varieties named after her include:
* ''× Graptosedum'' 'Vera Higgins', an intergeneric hybrid succulent between ''Graptopetalum paraguayense'' and ''Sedum stahlii''.<ref name="Graptosedum" />
== References == {{Reflist}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Higgins, Vera}} Category:1892 births Category:1968 deaths Category:British women scientists Category:British botanists
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