26 Janaki Ammal

Janaki Ammal

Time period:

November 1897- November 1984

Subject:

Botany and Cell Biology

Biography:

Janaki Ammal was born November 4th, 1897 in India and was one of thirteen siblings. Her family resided in what was then the Madras Province that believed in gender equality and allowed Janaki to pursue whatever her heart desired. Most women in her family went into fine arts but she chose to take after her father, and Janaki went into science. She was able to study in the United States and later worked in India and England where she contributed to our knowledge of botany and cell biology. She also worked alongside the Indian government in the 1950s to increase crop yields as the country had been faced with a series of famines the decade prior and were still recovering. Janaki passed away in 1984 on November 7th. One of her crosses of magnolia, Magnolia kobus Janaki Ammal, can still be seen in the world-renowned garden at Wisley that has white petals and purple stamens.

Summary of their contributions:

Firstly, in India, Janaki worked at the Sugarcane Breeding Station where scientists were working on making the Indian variety of Saccharum spontaneum (sugarcane) more sweet; the variety found in Indonesia was sweeter and more widely used. Through Janaki’s knowledge of cell biology and genetics, she was able to help successfully make a cross that was sweet and would thrive growing in the conditions in India, allowing the country to no longer need to import sugarcane and grow their agriculture industry. Later Janaki went to work in England where she and her colleagues cataloged the number of chromosomes in over 100,000 plants in the 1940s.

Integration with the BC Secondary Science Curriculum:

Students in British Columbia learn a lot about cell biology and genetics through grades 8-10, and these are fields that Janaki contributed to through a botany lens. In grade 9, students learn about chromosomes and how the amount varies between species. Most of her work can easily work within the science 10 curriculum where students learn about hybrid crosses and artificial selection.

References:

McNeill, Leila. (2019). The Pioneering Female Botanist Who Sweetened a Nation and Saved a Valley. Smithsonian Magazine. Accessed 7 December 2024. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/pioneering-female-botanist-who-sweetened-nation-and-saved-valley-180972765/

Mohite, Neeta Suresh & Kaur, Harkirat. (2022). Indian Daughters of Science: Stories of 21 Indian Women Scientists and their Lives, Struggles & Achievements. OrangeBooks Publication.