Emma Jane Cole (January 23, 1845 – April 25, 1910) was an American teacher, botanist, and curator, and the author of Grand Rapids Flora: A Catalogue of the Flowering Plants and Ferns Growing Without Cultivation in the Vicinity of Grand Rapids, Michigan.

[1] She was one of the first female members of the Kent Scientific Institute (predecessor of the Grand Rapids Public Museum), and served as the vice president and botanical curator.

[2] Realizing the need for a local reference in her teaching, Cole set out to document all the vascular plants present in Grand Rapids and its surrounding townships.

[1][2] Emma Cole died of kidney failure on April 25, 1910, in San Antonio, Texas, following a trip to Mexico.

[6][7] A project at Calvin University from 2014 to 2018 attempted to revisit and assess all the locations described in Grand Rapids Flora.