Mary Gibby

Professor Mary Gibby (27 February 1949 – 17 July 2024) was a British botanist, pteridologist and cytologist. She was an expert on ferns, becoming president of the British Pteridological Society and long-time editor of its journal, the Fern Gazette. Gibby particularly studied the cytology of the genera Dryopteris and Pelargonium.

Early life and education Gibby was born on 27 February 1949 in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, to Edgar and Sheila Ambrose (née Bickerton). She later worked with Alastair Culham on the evolutionary relationships within the genus.

Gibby's research on Dryopteris continued into the late 1980s but after attending a conference in the United States in 1991, she became more focused on Pelargonium, the filmy fern (Trichomanes speciosum), and European and Macaronesian Asplenium. In the role, she worked with the University of Edinburgh, the Scottish Crop Research Institute, Scottish Natural Heritage, and helped to develop the first versions of the Scottish Biodiversity Strategy. In 2009, Gibby was part of the restoration of the fernery at Benmore Botanic Garden, helping to direct the replanting after the building had been restored the previous year. Gibby had also edited the society's journal Fern Gazette since 2002, and continued to do so until her death in 2024. in 2009; in 2012, she was reappointed for a second three-year term by environment secretary Caroline Spelman. Gibby was awarded an OBE in the 2010 New Year Honours for services to botany.

Gibby retired in 2012 but continued to work at the NHM London and RBGE as a research associate, collections curator and teacher.

Personal life and death Gibby married Mike Gibby, a fellow botany student at university, before they later divorced.

Gibby was also a canal and narrowboat enthusiast; she owned and restored a narrowboat called Swan that had been built in 1933 and enjoyed spending time on it. She was a member of the boat community at Battlebridge Basin in London and was director of a narrowboat company from 2014 to 2020.

Gibby died on 17 July 2024 during a fieldwork trip in the Italian Alps with her husband.