Women and Algae: Maria Selebam de Cattani and the Circulation of her Algal Specimens in the 19th Century and Beyond

During the 18th and 19th centuries, women were active participants in botanical culture and scientific practice. Despite their extensive contributions to the field – collecting specimens, assembling herbaria, and corresponding with naturalists – their names and activities often remained obscure or unknown. Maria Selebam de Cattani (Split, 1789-1870) was a noblewoman fascinated by nature and science from a young age. Initially interested in butterflies, shells and plants, she later focused her expertise on algae, collecting specimens along the Dalmatian coast and distributing them to scientists and museums across Europe. Drawing on an integrated study of museums’ collections, archival sources, and printed texts, this article profiles Cattani as a 19th-century female naturalist who – despite never publishing formal studies – significantly contributed to early Adriatic algological research through her algae collections and extensive network. She enriched the natural history collections of local and international museums, providing a valuable scientific resource for her contemporaries and later scholars: her work positioned her within the history of Adriatic botany and beyond.