American botanical artist who spent over 60 years collecting, classifying, and painting the native plants of Maine.
Born Catherine Furbish in Exeter, New Hampshire, Furbish grew up in Brunswick, Maine. Furbish became actively interested in the study of plants after hearing a series of lectures by American botanist George L. Goodale, a professor at Harvard University, in 1860. It was not until 1870, however, that she began her life’s work of identifying and recording in watercolors the native plants of Maine. She traveled throughout the state, often to previously untouched areas, walking, crawling, or using a raft or rowboat to reach a specimen.

Her pioneering research created a lasting legacy. Two of the plants she discovered were named in her honor, including Pedicularis furbishiae, commonly known as the Furbish lousewort. This plant made headlines in 1976 when it was rediscovered growing in northern Maine 30 years after it was assumed extinct. It was found on the banks of the St. John River on land slated to be flooded in a $1.3-billion dam project. Environmental protests and federal protection of the endangered Furbish lousewort forced planners to abandon the project.

In 1895 Furbish founded the Josselyn Botanical Society of Maine, and she served as its president from 1911 to 1912. She also lectured to various groups and published botanical articles in the American Naturalist. Furbish continued her botanical work until her death in 1931. Her 16 large folios of watercolor drawings were presented to Bowdoin College, where they remain today. Her collection of 4000 dried plants is housed in Harvard University’s Gray Herbarium, and her collection of 182 dried ferns was received by the Portland Society of Natural History. Her many admirers included professional botanists such as Asa Gray who recognized that amateurs such as Furbish were instrumental in advancing the knowledge of plant sciences.