Draft:Louisa Grace Fortescue



Louisa Grace Fortescue (née Butler), Lady Clermont, (18 July 1816 - 8 November 1896) was a notable figure in the 19th century, credited for her contribution to botany through the discovery of a hybrid fern. Born into the prestigious Butler family, she was the daughter of James Butler, 1st Marquess of Ormonde. Her marriage to Thomas Fortescue, 1st Baron Clermont, further established her prominence within the aristocratic circles of the time.

Her and her husband had no children, and Thomas' English peerage became extinct on his death.

Botanical Discovery
Lady Clermont's most enduring legacy lies in her discovery in the field of botany. In 1863, while exploring the grounds of Ravensdale Park where she lived, she identified a hybrid fern growing on a wall. This plant, a cross between the Maidenhair Spleenwort (Asplenium trichomanes) and Wall-rue (Asplenium ruta-muraria), was originally described as a species in its own right, Asplenium clermontae, as hybridisation in ferns had not yet been confirmed as possible.

It was decades later that a hybrid original was suspected. James Sowerby wrote in 1886, "It is but an inference that ferns do produce hybrids, as it has never been actually proved by experiment, but every new intermediate form which exists in extremely small quantity and is found in circumstances where the supposed parents grow together adds to the probability of hybridisation in ferns. Asplenium clermontae has a peculiar interest."

Later, when its hybrid origins were confirmed, the hybrid was renamed with the hybrid binomial Asplenium x clermontiae, commonly referred to as Lady Clermont's Spleenwort, in her honour.

As of 2024, only three plants of Lady Clermont's Spleenwort are known in Britain and Ireland.