Helen Sharsmith

Helen Katherine Meyers Sharsmith (August 26, 1905 – November 10, 1982) was an American biologist and educator. She was one of the first women botanists at the University of California and is recognized for her contributions to botanical research there.

Biography Helen Sharsmith was born in on August 26, 1905 in Oakland, California. Both were advised by Herbert Mason and received their doctorates in 1940. Later, she worked as a biology assistant at the Carnegie Institution of Washington. Her friend Annetta Carter wrote an obituary which was published in Fremontia, a journal published by the California Native Plant Society. Sharsmith's 1945 doctoral dissertation, Flora of the Mount Hamilton Range of California, details native flora in the Mount Hamilton area. The Santa Clara Chapter of the California Native Plant Society published the dissertation in 1982. A New Species of Linum From the Coast Ranges of California, published in 1945, describes Linum bicarpellatum. The Genus Hesperolinon (Linnaceae) is a 1961 monographic morphological study of flowers in the genus Hesperolinon. It was cited in the book Principles of Plant Taxonomy, with authors David and Heywood noting that it was an excellent morphological study.

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