Darwin Correspondence Project

Kew.

Wednesday | 23. Apr. 1862

Dear Sir

Here are the flowers of Oxalis as requested. I do not perceive anything distinctly dimorphic.—

My examining of the plant had reference chiefly to the aestival small flowers: they are very remarkable.— I altered a little the ``definition'' of the two groups of dimorphism in the paper which you so kindly looked over (& tho't worth printing!).— Making one group with the Dimorphism manifest in, primarily, a separation more or less of the sexual organs, accompanied or not by alteration in the outer whorls.— (Thus including all wholly or partially diclinous plants,—Catasetum, Primula, &c) & the other group marked primarily by alteration primarily in envelopes of the flower without separation of the sexes.

Of course this is only the morphologl. definition

After discussing their function &c. we may class them in corresponding group by other characters.

Very sincerely yours | Danl. Oliver