To Francis Darwin [9 July 1881]1
[Down.]
My dear F.
The enclosed in Gardeners Chronicle, which please keep carefully, is well worth reading.— What a curious use of circumnutation!2 I must just tell you what splendid cases of paraheliotropism I have just seen with Desmodium gyrans & Mimosa, when plants were fixed, under your biggest bell glasses & when exposed to glaring sun after dull weather. On the Desmodium every leaf (except 2 pinned ones stood vertically up, giving the bush the oddest appearance— With mimosa not only the leaflets became highly inclined, but ultimately a whole leaf rose up almost vertically.3 I now believe with all F. Muller’s cases that paraheliotropism is one of the commonest movements in plants—4
Yours affectly | C. D.
Footnotes
Bibliography
Brown, Nicholas Edward. 1881. A locomotive dicotyledon. Gardeners’ Chronicle, 9 July 1881, p. 42.
Summary
Reports splendid cases of "paraheliotropism" which he now believes is one of the commonest movements of plants.
Letter details
- Letter no.
- DCP-LETT-13103
- From
- Charles Robert Darwin
- To
- Francis Darwin
- Sent from
- Down
- Source of text
- DAR 211: 71
- Physical description
- ALS 2pp
Please cite as
Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 13103,” accessed on 24 April 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-13103.xml