Janaki Ammal

Pioneering botanist E K Janaki Ammal (1897-1984) was the first woman in the United States to earn a PhD in the field of botany. Born in India in 1897, Janaki Ammal became the RHS' first female salaried employee in 1946 (where she stayed until 1951) when she was head-hunted by the RHS and offered a position as a cytologist, working in the laboratory at RHS Garden Wisley. Among other things Janaki Ammal studied the botanical uses of colchicine, a medication that can double a plant’s chromosome number and result in larger and quicker-growing plants. Her work with cross breeding led to her discovery of variety of sugar cane that could grow well in India and is widely cultivated to this day. Magnolia kobus 'Janaki Ammal' is named in her honour and can be seen growing today on Wisley’s Battleston Hill.