Elisabeth Tschermak-Woess (28 January 1917 – 26 April 2001) was an Austrian University lecturer, cytologist, and phycologist who worked with lichen photobionts.
Noted for her excellent technique with the light microscope, she discovered the presence of polytene chromosomes in plants.
Tschermak-Woess published more than 100 scientific papers, including a book and the overview on lichen algae in Margalith Galun's Handbook of Lichenology (1988).
Tschermak-Woess made a significant contribution to the understanding of lichen algae, and she circumscribed the genera Asterochloris, Dilabifilum.
[6] About a third of Tschermak-Woess's publications are about cytology; frequent topics in this area include population cytogenetic studies on Allium paniculatum, and the processes of endomitosis and endopolyploidy in flowering plants.