Helia Bravo Hollis

Helia Bravo Hollis (30 September 1901 – 26 September 2001) was a Mexican botanist and a researcher in the Faculty of Science at UNAM.

Background and studies

Helia Bravo Hollis was born and raised in Mixcoac, located in present-day Mexico City. Her interest in the study of living beings came from Sunday walks with her parents. She excelled in school from a young age. President Porfirio Díaz gave her recognition for her grades upon her completion of primary school.

After finishing high school, Bravo initially continued her studies in medicine. She faced pressure from her family to become a doctor and biology was not yet available as a major at UNAM. However, when an opportunity to study biology arose a year afterwards she transferred to study at UNAM's College of Sciences. In 1927, she became the first certified biologist in Mexico.

In 1931, Bravo obtained a Master of Science degree in Biological Sciences from the College of Philosophy and Letters of UNAM, with the thesis, "Contribution to the knowledge of the cactus of Tehuacán, Puebla." She later received an honorary doctorate from UNAM in 1985. They divorced after a decade of marriage without having children. Bravo retired at the age of 90 due to her arthritis. Her best-recognized work, Las Cactaceas de Mexico, was published in 1937. The work was written in Spanish and was over 700 pages in length. Bravo collaborated with Hernando Sanchez-Mejorada to update the book from 1978 to 1991.

(Cactaceae) Heliabravoa Backeb. -- Cact. Succ.

One genus, Heliabravoa, was named in Helia's honor by Curt Backeberg (1894–1966) in 1956; however, this genus later became a synonym of Polaskia that was described by C Backeberg in 1949. Helia is credited with describing two genera, Backebergia in 1953 and Pseudomitrocereus (w Franz Buxbaum (1900–1979)) in 1961; however, both became synonyms of Pachycereus.