Gabriela Gustava Hässel de Menéndez was an Argentine bryologist and one of the pioneering specialists of liverworts and hornworts in South America. She was born in Quilmes, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina, and studied Natural Sciences at the Universidad de Buenos Aires (UBA). After initially entering the geology track, she changed to biology and obtained her degree in 1951 and her doctorate in 1959. Her doctoral work focused on the Marchantiales and Anthocerotales of Argentina.
From 1949, she began working at the Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales “Bernardino Rivadavia”, initially without salary, and gradually developed the study of liverworts there at a time when the collections and reference material were still very limited. In 1962, she became Head of the Museum’s Division of Cryptogams, a position she held until 1990. She was also appointed a researcher of the “Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas” (CONICET) in 1962 and later became Principal Researcher. Even after formally leaving her post, she continued working at the museum until her death in 2009.
Gabriela Hässel de Menéndez specialized in the taxonomy, anatomy, biosystematics, ecology and geographical distribution of liverworts and hornworts, with particular emphasis on southern South America. Her work included extensive studies of Marchantiales, Anthocerotales and the genus Riccardia (Aneuraceae); she described numerous taxa new to science. She also contributed substantially to knowledge of the bryophyte flora of Patagonia, Tierra del Fuego and subantarctic regions.
Her international training included postgraduate studies at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München in 1953–1954, followed by research periods at Columbia University, the New York Botanical Garden, and the University of California, Berkeley in 1963–1964. She received a Guggenheim Fellowship during this period.
She was also an important teacher and mentor. She taught botany at the Faculty of Pharmacy and Biochemistry of the University of Buenos Aires and trained a generation of bryologists. She was also involved in the creation of the Sociedad Latinoamericana de Briología, helping to strengthen bryology as a discipline in Latin America.
Gabriela Hässel de Menéndez published 91 scientific papers and several major taxonomic works. Her career was recognized by a number of distinctions, including the Premio Konex in Botany and Paleobotany in 1983. Shortly after her death, Nova Hedwigia devoted a special tribute volume to her work and legacy.
She died on 4 July 2009. Her contribution was fundamental to the development of hepaticology in Argentina and, more broadly, in Latin America.
References
Reiner-Drehwald, M. Elena; Rubies, Marta; Schiavone, M. Magdalena (2010) A tribute to Gabriela Hassel de Menendez (1927-2009) Nova Hedwigia Band 91 Heft 3-4, p. 279 – 288 DOI: 10.1127/0029-5035/2010/0091-0279
Gabriela Gustava Hässel de Menéndez: 1927 – 2009 December 2009 Boletin de la Sociedad Argentina de Botanica 44(3-4):453-453
