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Darwin Correspondence Project

To Bingham Sibthorpe Malden   15–16 June [1861]1

Down. | Bromley. | Kent. S.E.

June 15th

Dear Sir

I really hardly know how to thank you sufficiently for the Box of Orchids received this morning: they came beautifully fresh.—2

I felt an almost boyish delight at the H. viridis, for I thought that I shd. never see it.— By the way it ought not to be ranked with Habenaria.—3

Now I have seen & carefully every British orchid, which anyone can hope to see, except the Lizard, which I still hope either from your or Mr Oxenden’s kindness to see.4 And I will soon begin & write my paper.—5

I was, also, very glad to see the noble specimens of Aceras;6 but these had not the little & curious monstrous flowers; & it must have been a strange chance that 5 out of six specimens sent me by Mr Oxenden were thus furnished. These little monstrous flowers illustrate structure of Habenaria. If in your wallks you meet Aceras look for little monstrous flowers7    The old spec. of O. fusca were also very useful; as they confirmed what I observed in Mr. Oxenden’s specimens that insects seldom visit this species & in consequence it seldom seeds.—

I know little of Botany, but it seemed to me that the fine purple orchids, with leaves not spotted & with hollow stems were O. latifolia (which I once saw) & the white ones O. maculata   Would you have the kindness to tell me whether this is the case?

I was, also, glad to examine the state of pollen-masses of your Canterbury Fly ophrys.8 In short, owing to your great kindness, I had a most interesting morning’s work. If convenient to you, will you have a look at the pollen-masses of the Bee O. & especially of the var. arachnites to see whether any are removed in oldish flowers, or whether all (as here) have fallen on their own stigmas.9

With cordial thanks, pray believe me— yours sincerely | C. Darwin

If not thrown away will you kindly return me some time the slip from G. Chronicle.—10

June 16th   P.S. I have just received & thank you for your note.11 About the Lizard shall be private.— I thought O. militaris == O. fusca.—

Footnotes

The year is given by the reference to CD’s study of orchids (see n. 5, below).
CD thanked Malden in Orchids for providing him with specimens of Orchis fusca (a synonym of Orchis purpurea subsp. purpurea), which is rare in Britain, and of Peristylus (or Habenaria) viridis (Orchids, pp. 43, 78). Peristylus viridis and Habenaria viridis are synonyms of Dactylorhiza viridis, the frog orchis. Malden also supplied CD with living O. latifolia (a synonym of Dactylorhiza incarnata subsp. incarnata, the early marsh-orchid) and O. maculata (a synonym of Dactylorhiza maculata, the heath spotted orchid; ibid., p. 40).
See Orchids, pp. 52–3, 76–9. See also letter to A. G. More, 2 June 1861.
George Chichester Oxenden provided CD with a number of specimens of orchids (Orchids, p. 31). The lizard orchid was Orchis hircina (a synonym of Himatoglossum hircinum). CD mentioned that Oxenden had sent him specimens in Orchids 2d ed., p. 25 n.
CD originally intended to publish the results of his study of orchids in the Transactions of the Linnean Society of London. It was not until September that he began to think of publishing the work as a book (see letter to John Murray, 21 September [1861]).
Malden apparently sent CD four plants of Aceras anthropomorpha (a misspelling of A. anthropomorphum, a synonym of Orchis anthropophora) (Orchids, p. 40).
This sentence and the preceding one were written in the margins of the paragraph discussing Aceras (see ‘Manuscript alterations and comments’). CD briefly described the monstrous flowers of Aceras and mentioned their resemblance to the structure of Habenaria chlorantha in Orchids, p. 324 n.
CD was interested in ascertaining whether insects ever visited the plants of Ophrys muscifera growing in Britain. He included the plants Malden sent in a tabulation of this study published in Orchids, p. 59.
CD found O. apifera curious in exhibiting ‘widely different means of fertilisation as compared with other species of the genus, and, indeed, as far as I know, with all other Orchids.’ (Orchids, p. 63). Unlike most orchids, this species is well adapted to self-fertilisation. Of the flowers Malden sent, few had their pollinia removed (ibid., p. 66).
The reference may be to CD’s letter printed in the Gardeners’ Chronicle and Agricultural Gazette, 9 February 1861, p. 122, entitled ‘Fertilisation of British orchids by insect agency’. See letter to the Gardeners’ Chronicle, [before 9 February 1861].
Malden’s note has not been found.

Bibliography

Orchids 2d ed.: The various contrivances by which orchids are fertilised by insects. By Charles Darwin. 2d edition, revised. London: John Murray. 1877.

Orchids: On the various contrivances by which British and foreign orchids are fertilised by insects, and on the good effects of intercrossing. By Charles Darwin. London: John Murray. 1862.

Summary

Thanks BSM for orchid specimens. Discusses various species of Orchis and Ophrys.

Letter details

Letter no.
DCP-LETT-3183
From
Charles Robert Darwin
To
Bingham Sibthorpe Malden
Sent from
Down
Source of text
American Philosophical Society (Mss.B.D25.254)
Physical description
ALS 4pp

Please cite as

Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 3183,” accessed on 28 March 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-3183.xml

Also published in The Correspondence of Charles Darwin, vol. 9

letter