Julia Morton

Julia Frances McHugh Morton (April 25, 1912 – September 10, 1996) was an American author and botanist. She was a research professor of biology, and director of the Morton Collectanea at the University of Miami. She was elected a Fellow of the Linnean Society of London in 1974. Well known as a lecturer on toxic, edible, and otherwise useful plants, she wrote 10 books and 94 scientific papers, and contributed to an additional 12 books and 27 papers.

Early life Morton was born Julia Francis McHugh, on April 25, 1912 in Middlebury, Vermont, and grew up on a farm in rural Vermont where she was interested in agriculture, the outdoors, and natural resources. At the age of 15, her mother and sister died, and she went to New York City to live with her brother. She worked as a commercial artist for several years and married Kendal Paul Morton (1897–1964), a Canadian. By 1933, they had begun work on collating information on food, medicinal, and other useful plants. They assembled copies or clippings of existing material and filed it away in file cabinets. They housed this compilation in an office near the New York Public Library, and it soon became known as The Morton Collectanea in academia.

Life in Florida and further work After the war ended, the Mortons were invited to work at the Subtropical Experimental Station in Homestead, Florida in association with George Ruehle and Dr. Bruce Ledin. Working with Ledin they produced the manuscript for the book 400 Plants of South Florida.

Julia Morton along with her husband Kendal were among the founders of the original Rare Fruit Council, which was founded on March 11, 1955, in Miami. This "Tropical Fruit Study Group" was named Rare Fruit Council by Julia Morton after the group's initial meeting.

President Ashe approved setting up the Collectanea at the new campus, and with the aid of professor Taylor Alexander, the files were installed in a new, more spacious location, and students employed to select and organize new material. This allowed the Collectanea to be expanded, and visiting scholars had room to work and free access to the material.

Although their initial work was on edible plants, their area of interest increased to cover poisonous plants as well as useful ones, both edible and ornamental. Additional books were published, and a suggestion that Julia's plant photographs were suitable for charts inspired the creation of two wall posters of "Plants Poisonous to People," one focusing on internally poisonous plants, and the other on skin and respirator irritants. 400 Plants of South Florida (1949) Some Useful and Ornamental Plants of the Caribbean Gardens (Botanical gardens, 1955) The Mamey (Florida State Horticultural Society, 1962) Wild Plants for Survival in South Florida (Hurricane House, 1962) Plants Poisonous to People (Hurricane House, 1971) Exotic Plants (1973) translated into French as Plantes exotiques Folk Remedies of the Low Countries (1974) The Atlas of Medicinal Plants of Middle America (C.C. Thomas, 1981). Fruits of Warm Climates (1987) (online) Herbs and spices. New York: Golden Press, 1976

Honors Research Professor of Biology and Director of the Morton Collectanea, University of Miami Florida State University honorary doctorate for her research and writings for the National Institutes of Health and the US Department of Defense, 1973. Elected Fellow of the Linnean Society of London, 1974. Named the first Distinguished Economic Botanist by the international Society for Economic Botany, 1978. Served as President of the Florida State Horticultural Society, 1979.