Ursula Katherine Duncan (17 September 1910 – 27 January 1985) was a botanist with a special interest in mosses and lichens, and a lifelong love and knowledge of flowers.

The family, including her younger sister Frances, lived in London when the girls were little but moved to their estate at Parkhill near Arbroath when she was nine.

[1] During the Second World War Duncan worked in Inverness for the Censorship Department, until her family situation changed suddenly in August 1943.

[3] She drew up distribution maps and contributed significantly to records of new sightings: for instance, she found mosses that had not been noted since the 19th century, like Grimmia unicolor and Bryum dixonii.

[1] She wrote the following books: Some friends claimed Duncan loved flowers above all other plants,[3] and she enjoyed gardening at Parkhill.

Her obituaries describe her walking vigorously over hilly ground in wild countryside seeking out interesting specimens: "tireless tramping".

She refused opportunities to join formal committees, and when she was given her doctorate she never used the title Dr.[2] She was a Fellow of the Linnaean Society (FLS) as well as being honoured with their H. H. Bloomer award in 1973.

[6] Shortly before her death at Arbroath on 27 January 1985 her sizeable collection of vascular plants with taxonomic significance was given to the Dundee Museum.