Mrs Ellen Sofie (or Sophy) ("Helena") Bertelsen, Norwegian missionary, was the daughter of Johan Christian Olsen and his wife Eleonora Petronella Abigail Johanneson. She was married to the Norwegian missionary Elling Andreas Bertelsen (1850-1883). In May to June 1882 she collected liverworts around Mapumulo (between Stanger and Kranskop), Natal, and sent them to Dr. F.C. Kiaer of Kristiania (now Oslo), Norway. The specimens were described by William H. Pearson in "Hepaticae Natalenses a clarissima domina Helena Bertelsen missae" in Christiania Videnskabs-Selskabs Forhandlinger 1886, No. 3. Mrs Bertelsen was commemorated in the species name Lejeunea heleniae. After her husband's death she married Reinert Larsen Aas.

List of sources:

Ellen Sofie Bertelsen Aas. Retrieved on 28 July 2023 from https://peoplepill.com/people/ellen-sofie-bertelsen-aas

Ellen Sofie Bertelsen Aas Olsen. Retrieved on 28 July 2023 from https://www.vid.no/historisk-arkiv/ressurser/nms-people-places/ellen-sofie-bertelsen-aas/

Gunn, M. & Codd, L.E. Botanical exploration of southern Africa. Cape Town: Balkema: 1981.

Wyley, C. A bibliography of contemporary writings on the natural history of Natal and Zululand... Journal of Natal and Zulu history, 1990-1, Vol. 13, pp. 91-110.

Compiled by: C. Plug

Last updated: 2023-07-28 12:08:37