Frederica Plunket

The Honourable Frederica Louisa Edith Plunket (1838–1886) was an Irish aristocrat from Ballymascanlan, County Louth, a prolific botanical illustrator and pioneering mountaineer.

Family Plunket was born at Kilsaran, near Castlebellingham in County Louth. Her father Thomas Plunket, 2nd Baron Plunket (1792–1866), was a junior Church of Ireland clergyman and later became the Bishop of Tuam, Killala and Achonry. Her mother Louise Jane Foster (married in 1819) was the daughter of John William Foster of Fanevalley, County Louth, Member of Parliament for Dunleer, and was related to the Earl of Clermont. Her grandfather was William Plunket, 1st Baron Plunket, Lord Chancellor of Ireland. Her first and second cousins included three titled members of the Irish aristocracy. Her eldest sister Katherine Plunket was known as Ireland's oldest person at 111 years and 327 days.

Botanical illustration

Plunket travelled Europe with her sister Katherine Plunket and they made many sketches of flowers in France, Italy, Spain and Germany, and Ireland.

Despite her insistence in the introduction to her book that dangers were over emphasised Plunket herself experienced potentially fatal accidents while climbing.