Floretta Allen Curtiss (1 December 1822 – 3 March 1899)[1] was an American phycologist, whose significant collection of algae specimens was ultimately donated to the United States National Herbarium.

[2] In collecting and mounting specimens, Allen H. Curtiss wrote:she found not only a species of artwork, but a nature study requiring close mental application.

[2][3] Floretta Allen Curtiss died on 3 March 1899, and was buried at Hillside Memorial Cemetery and Park, Oswego County, New York.

[2][5] Charles Edwin Bessey wrote that "Science owes her a debt of gratitude for the years of painstaking labor which she gave to the gathering and preservation of specimens, which have enriched the botanical collections of the World's great herbaria.

Michael J. Wynne wrote:It is appropriate to pay homage to Floretta Allen Curtiss, an adventurous lady who although never publishing a single paper on algae, stands out as a genuine "trailblazer."

She was not a mere petticoated wader as was so common in this Victorian period but rather was one sturdy field botanist, who devoted the last two decades of her life to her favorite pursuit, namely, the study of marine algae.