Ernest Mayer (born 10 November 1920 in Zgornji Tuhinj, died 17 March 2009) was a Slovenian botanist He studied Biology at the University of Ljubljana and at the University of Vienna.
In 1947, he finished his studies in Vienna and graduated in botany as the main subject.
Then, he transferred to the Jovan Hadži Institute of Biology, Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts where he was a senior scientist until his retirement in 1991.
His work primarily focussed on phytogeographic, morphological and taxonomic identification of higher plants that grow on the territory of the former Yugoslavia and the rest of the Balkan Peninsula, with an emphasis on endemics and polymorphism.
For his contribution to science, he received the Jesenko Prize of the Biotechnical Faculty (1979)[1] and the Kidrič Award for lifetime achievement (1986).