Parris, Margaret Jean (née Rylah)   (1915 - 1999)

Born 11 Nov 1915, Kew, Victoria, Australia; died 1 Oct 1999, Canberra, ACT (aged 83).

Her parents were Walter Robert Rylah and Helen I. Rylah.
In 1940 she married Cyril George Parris (1914-2004).

Her education qualifications were in economics. She was awarded a Master degree from the University of Melbourne, approx 1936.

She worked as an economist and statistician for several organisations in the late 1930s and early 1940s, and in the 'Rationing Commission' during WW2.

Her collecting activities were widespread. She took every opportunity to collect, including on holidays. Margaret sent material to the NSW, Victorian and National Herbaria. She conducted surveys in the Kosciusko National Park after the 1972 fires, with Dane Wimbush and others. She investigated the flora of Nadgee Nature Reserve, Ben Boyd National Park and Mt Imlay National Park.

In 1999, the NSW NPWS acknowledged her contribution to the decision to include the Tantawangalow Mountain region in the reserve system.

An article on Alpine plants she co-wrote with Dane Wimbush was published in the Journal of Australian Plants, Vol 7, No 60, 1974. This edition also included her own article on experiments in growing Alpine plants in Cooma NSW.

She did some collecting with Dave Albrecht.

She is honoured in the plant names:

Pomaderris parrisiae N.G. Walsh,
"The specific epithet honours Mrs Margaret Parris of Merimbula who has been an avid and skilled collector and observer of plants in the N.S.W. south-coast area, and who first brought this taxon to my attention".
Pultenaea parrisiae J.D.Briggs & Crisp,
"Named after Margaret Parris, an amateur botanist who lived in Cooma for many years and now lives in Merimbula. She has made a great many valuable botanical collections (including this species) from the Southern Tablelands and South Coast regions of New South Wales.".
Zieria parrisiae J.D.Briggs & J.A.Armstr.,
"Named in honour of the late Margaret Parris who jointly discovered the species and whose collections have extended our knowledge of the taxonomy and biogeography of Zieria. Margaret's general botanical collections, particularly those from the Southern Tablelands and South Coast Districts of NSW, have improved significantly our knowledge of the flora of south-eastern Australia.".

Source: Extracted from:
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/202651207/margaret-jean-parris
Pers.Comm email - Jennifer Emerton 22/6/2026
Portrait Photo: Supplied by Jennifer Emerton (her daughter).

Collecting localities for 'Parris, M.' from AVH (2025)

Data from 4,748 specimens