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Orchids

Summary

Why Orchids? Darwin  wrote in his Autobiography, ‘During the summer of 1839, and, I believe, during the previous summer, I was led to attend to the cross-fertilisation of flowers by the aid of insects, from having come to the conclusion in my…

Matches: 28 hits

  • … Why Orchids? Darwin  wrote in his Autobiography , ‘During the summer …
  • … ’ So began Darwin’s interest in the floral morphology of orchids, but it was another few years …
  • … On the various contrivances by which British and foreign orchids are fertilised by insects, and on …
  • … as Darwin usually referred to it, appeared in May 1862 ( Orchids ). A letter to Hooker, on …
  • … for information on what kinds of moths the pollen-masses of Orchids have been found adhering. ’ The …
  • … of adaptation, I have lately been looking at our common orchids & I daresay the facts are as old …
  • … an important factor leading Darwin to write his study of orchids. After mentioning his observations …
  • … has not gone. ’ One might speculate that the research on orchids provided a welcome break from the …
  • … pleading, ‘ Have pity on me & let me write once again on Orchids for I am in a transport of …
  • … Orchis ) based on this observation. By now, the subject of orchids was irresistible; towards the …
  • … observe the bee orchid, and requesting flowers of some other orchids found on the island. Since More …
  • … trouble to send me in an old tin cannister any of these orchids, permitting me of course to repay …
  • … Unfortunately, although More could send specimens of various orchids, Darwin had to infer the role …
  • … has not been found, but many of his observations cited in Orchids are responses to the queries …
  • … is the key-stone to understand the structure of many orchids.— I enclose abstract of facts of two …
  • … anxious to examine Spiranthes and Epipactis and indeed all Orchids. The paper is really worth …
  • … obliged to you for so kindly telling me about the Australian Orchids, (a subject which interests me …
  • … irritability (it is quite beyond my scope) except in case of Orchids; I have a large mass of notes …
  • … he wrote his first draft of what was intended as a paper on orchids. He confessed to Hooker, ‘ My …
  • … It is mere virtue which makes me not wish to examine more orchids; for I like it far better than …
  • … his Journal for 1861, ‘During stay at Torquay did paper on Orchids all rest of year Orchid Book’ –as …
  • … that. At this time, many women were avid collectors of orchids and very knowledgeable about …
  • … as he broadened his project to include tropical orchids, was Lady Dorothy Nevill, an accomplished …
  • … time, Darwin had become increasingly interested in exotic orchids, so much so that the one change …
  • … most obliging notes, I ever received, & has sent a lot of orchids now on the road! ’ Typically, …
  • … rare specimens. Darwin confessed, ‘ I am convinced that orchids have a wicked power of witchcraft, …
  • … pigeons, and rabbits instead of intensely admiring beautiful orchids. ’ Lindley provided Darwin …
  • … to Lindley, himself the author of a number of works on orchids, ‘ I very much fear that in …

Orchids

Summary

Sources|Discussion Questions|Experiment A project to follow On the Origin of Species Darwin began to observe English orchids and collect specimens from abroad in the years immediately following the publication of On the Origin of Species. Examining…

Matches: 16 hits

  • … Origin of Species Darwin began to observe English orchids and collect specimens from abroad …
  • … publication of On the Origin of Species . Examining orchids was a welcome relief from the …
  • … experimental and detailed scientific work like that on orchids. A "flank movement …
  • … his mechanism of evolutionary change. Darwin theorized that orchids and their pollinators had co …
  • … Hooker's expertise regarding the fertilisation strategies of orchids and their pollinators. …
  • … On the various contrivances by which British and foreign orchids are fertilised by insects . London …
  • … of Orchis") Letters Letter Packet: Orchids Letter 3286 - …
  • … ecological interactions resulted in the co-evolution of orchids and their pollinating insects. …
  • … speculations on the relationship between tropical moths and orchids? Did he attempt to journey to …
  • … one . Have your students observe the structure of the orchids and speculate about the type of …
  • … University: Although Darwin’s observations of orchids provided many useful examples of …
  • … academic endeavour. This attitude towards his work on orchids is shown in an 1860 letter Darwin …
  • … Not being able lately to work I have amused myself about Orchids. I have been struck with amazement …
  • … reading a selection of letters about Darwin’s work with orchids and Chapter 1 of Darwin’s 1862 book …
  • … On the various contrivances by which British and foreign orchids are fertilised by insects . The …
  • … a few video clips that illustrate the various ways in which orchids are fertilized. Interesting …

Darwin in letters, 1862: A multiplicity of experiments

Summary

1862 was a particularly productive year for Darwin. This was not only the case in his published output (two botanical papers and a book on the pollination mechanisms of orchids), but more particularly in the extent and breadth of the botanical experiments…

Matches: 14 hits

  • … botanical papers and a book on the pollination mechanisms of orchids), but more particularly in the …
  • … German edition of  Origin , a German translation of  Orchids , and impatiently awaited the …
  • … worked on ‘Dimorphic condition in  Primula ’ and  Orchids ; it suffered a further setback when …
  • … read in April, was largely an extract from the book on orchids and their ‘remarkable contrivances’ …
  • … the subject alone: he continued to seek out specimens of the orchids that puzzled him, and was …
  • … Darwin was careful to send out presentation copies of  Orchids  to eminent botanists in Britain …
  • … valuable’ (letter from George Bentham, 15 May 1862).  Orchids  was published on 15 May, and by …
  • … a flank-movement on the enemy The success of  Orchids  was important: it was a follow …
  • … D. Hooker, 14 March [1862] ): ‘I have found the study of orchids eminently useful in showing me how …
  • … Society on 24 May, in which he held up Darwin’s work on orchids as an exemplar of the biological …
  • … Bronn complied willingly. Not only that—having read  Orchids  at Darwin’s request to judge of its …
  • … whom he received a long and thoughtful reply to the gift of Orchids that expressed admiration but …
  • … latest production. He requested the proof-sheets of  Orchids  in order to write an early review: …
  • … father’s commendation for his ‘splendid work in watching Orchids’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 30 …

Darwin’s hothouse and lists of hothouse plants

Summary

Darwin became increasingly involved in botanical experiments in the years after the publication of Origin. The building of a small hothouse - a heated greenhouse - early in 1863  greatly increased the range of plants that he could keep for scientific…

Matches: 5 hits

  • … for tropical plants. In 1861 and 1862, while preparing  Orchids , he was allowed ‘free use’ of the …
  • … a family of tropical and sub-tropical plants (see  Orchids , p. 158 n., and  Correspondence …
  • … mentioned that he hoped to be able to borrow ‘some few orchids’ from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, …
  • … had potted up the temperamental and valuable tropical orchids in ‘common earth’. Horwood had had to …
  • …   Acropera luteola   Orchids     …

From morphology to movement: observation and experiment

Summary

Darwin was a thoughtful observer of the natural world from an early age. Whether on a grand scale, as exemplified by his observations on geology, or a microscopic one, as shown by his early work on the eggs and larvae of tiny bryozoans, Darwin was…

Matches: 7 hits

  • … experimental manipulation under the microscope. Orchids and climbing plants: adaptation in …
  • … evolution theory, it became a process. In his research on orchids, therefore, Darwin began by …
  • … this anomalous structure after the publication of  Orchids  in 1862, and added information from …
  • … penetrated the inner membrane to suck out the fluid (see  Orchids  pp. 49-53). By the time the …
  • … other things, he compared the viscid matter of the discs in orchids with free nectar to those with …
  • … cases of adaptation which has ever been recorded’ ( Orchids  2d ed. pp. 43-4).  Darwin …
  • … adaptation was the main focus in Darwin’s work on both orchids and climbing plants, physiological …

Women’s scientific participation

Summary

Observers | Fieldwork | Experimentation | Editors and critics | Assistants Darwin’s correspondence helps bring to light a community of women who participated, often actively and routinely, in the nineteenth-century scientific community. Here is a…

Matches: 4 hits

  • … tells American naturalist Asa Gray about the observations of orchids made by his son, George. He …
  • … to tell Darwin that he has read his recent publication, Orchids . With the help of the …
  • … family news. Henrietta has been correcting the press of  Orchids , which Darwin asked her to read …
  • … him some plant samples from her hot-house to aid his work on orchids. Nevill is referenced for her …

Referencing women’s work

Summary

Darwin's correspondence shows that women made significant contributions to Darwin's work, but whether and how they were acknowledged in print involved complex considerations of social standing, professional standing, and personal preference.…

Matches: 1 hits

  • … to send him some unusual plant samples to aid his work on orchids. Nevill is referenced by name for …

Women as a scientific audience

Summary

Target audience? | Female readership | Reading Variation Darwin's letters, in particular those exchanged with his editors and publisher, reveal a lot about his intended audience. Regardless of whether or not women were deliberately targeted as a…

Matches: 1 hits

  • … family news. Henrietta has been correcting the press of Orchids , which Darwin asks her to …

Darwin in letters, 1876: In the midst of life

Summary

1876 was the year in which the Darwins became grandparents for the first time.  And tragically lost their daughter-in-law, Amy, who died just days after her son's birth.  All the letters from 1876 are now published in volume 24 of The Correspondence…

Matches: 6 hits

  • … when Darwin was finishing work on the second edition of Orchids and checking the page-proofs of …
  • … ) Darwin focused instead on the second edition of Orchids , and he devoted much effort …
  • … carrying out experiments, and revising the text. Orchids , which concentrated on the ‘means of …
  • … (letter to Asa Gray, 28 January 1876). Revising Orchids was less a return to old work than part …
  • … ... I hope also to republish a revised edition of my book on Orchids, & hereafter my papers on …
  • … self-fertilisation and began work on the second edition of Orchids . Despite noting in his …

Cross and self fertilisation

Summary

The effects of cross and self fertilisation in the vegetable kingdom, published on 10 November 1876, was the result of a decade-long project to provide evidence for Darwin’s belief that ‘‘Nature thus tells us, in the most emphatic manner, that she abhors…

Matches: 2 hits

  • … manner, that she abhors perpetual self-fertilisation’ ( Orchids , p. 359). In his book, On the …
  • … of dimorphic plants & all the wonderful contrivances of orchids are quite intelligible to me’ ( …

Darwin in letters, 1867: A civilised dispute

Summary

Charles Darwin’s major achievement in 1867 was the completion of his large work, The variation of animals and plants under domestication (Variation). The importance of Darwin’s network of correspondents becomes vividly apparent in his work on expression in…

Matches: 8 hits

  • … On the various contrivances by which British and foreign orchids are fertilised by insects  ( …
  • … repeating your charming observations on the fertilisation of Orchids by insects, as far as the …
  • … was already making observations on the pollination of orchids by insects that would confirm points …
  • … the various contrivances by which British and foreign orchids are fertilised by insects ( Orchids
  • … and reported on a series of crossing experiments with orchids. Darwin commented, ‘You have …
  • … the previous year concerning the self-sterility of some orchids, and in his first letter of 1867 he …
  • … also interested in experiments crossing different species of orchids that Müller had reported on, …
  • … arrogance, pointed out inconsistencies in the remarks on orchids and hummingbirds, and argued, ‘With …

Darwin in letters, 1864: Failing health

Summary

On receiving a photograph from Charles Darwin, the American botanist Asa Gray wrote on 11 July 1864: ‘the venerable beard gives the look of your having suffered, and … of having grown older’.  Because of poor health, Because of poor health, Darwin…

Matches: 7 hits

  • … hermaphrodite and female flowers on different plants. Orchids: a growing body of evidence …
  • … ongoing quest to confirm the statement in his 1862 book on orchids that nature ‘abhors self …
  • … he received a letter, insect specimens, and an article on orchids from Hermann Crüger, head of the …
  • … and his speculation that insects chewed the labellum of some orchids to facilitate pollination. …
  • … from Roland Trimen in South Africa. Darwin’s work with orchids continued to inspire the research of …
  • … role of insects in orchid pollination (‘Fertilization of orchids’), and to additions in the second …
  • … a plant collector in Cuba, that included information on orchids. Hooker passed on a query from …

Volume appendices

Summary

Here is a list of the appendices from the print volumes of the Correspondence of Charles Darwin with links to adapted online versions where they are available. Appendix I in each volume contains translations of letters in foreign languages and these can…

Matches: 3 hits

  • … 10 IV Presentation list for Orchids 10 V …
  • … 10 VII Reviews of Orchids 10 VIII …
  • … Presentation lists for second edition of Orchids , and Forms of flowers …

Darwin in letters, 1861: Gaining allies

Summary

The year 1861 marked an important change in the direction of Darwin’s work. He had weathered the storm that followed the publication of Origin, and felt cautiously optimistic about the ultimate acceptance of his ideas. The letters from this year provide an…

Matches: 8 hits

  • … developed into an intensive study of the phenomenon in 1861. Orchids, in particular the astonishing …
  • … Gray, 16 September [1861] ). But it was his study of orchids that provided Darwin with the …
  • … (see Autobiography , p. 133). Having observed orchids sporadically over many years, Darwin became …
  • … went even further, writing to John Lindley on 17 October: ‘Orchids have interested me more than …
  • … Murray readily agreed to publish the book. Convinced that orchids, primroses, and, another subject …
  • … operation of natural selection rather than creation (see  Orchids , pp. 306–7). To Hooker he …
  • … set to work to prepare the final manuscript, and  Orchids  was published in May of 1862. …
  • … work. He was actively engaged in preparing his volume on orchids, a dedicated ‘case study’ in …

Darwin in letters, 1863: Quarrels at home, honours abroad

Summary

At the start of 1863, Charles Darwin was actively working on the manuscript of The variation of animals and plants under domestication, anticipating with excitement the construction of a hothouse to accommodate his increasingly varied botanical experiments…

Matches: 7 hits

  • … about natural selection in the introduction to his paper on orchids (Scott 1863a), completed earlier …
  • … 11, Appendix VI). He was fascinated with the adaptations in orchids for cross-pollination by insects …
  • … of structure and coadaptation. The cross-pollination of orchids, as well as dimorphism in other …
  • … that nature ‘abhors perpetual self-fertilisation’ ( Orchids , p. 359); he had discussed the …
  • … ultimately be published in his paper ‘Fertilization of orchids’ and the second edition of  Orchids
  • … in Ceylon. Closer to home, Darwin arranged for a paper on orchids written by a German correspondent, …
  • … as beautiful in all its modifications as anything in orchids’ ( letter to Asa Gray, 4 August [1863] …

A fly on the flower: From Hermann Müller, 23 October 1867

Summary

In March 1867, Hermann Müller, a young teacher of natural sciences at a provincial Realschule (a type of secondary school that emphasised the natural sciences) in Lippstadt in the Prussian province of Westphalia, sent Darwin two papers on the mosses of…

Matches: 1 hits

  • … The young researcher had found Darwin’s book on  Orchids  an inspiration, but rather than just …

Was Darwin an ecologist?

Summary

One of the most fascinating aspects of Charles Darwin’s correspondence is the extent to which the experiments he performed at his home in Down, in the English county of Kent, seem to prefigure modern scientific work in ecology.

Matches: 6 hits

  • … the various contrivances by which British and foreign orchids are fertilised by insects, and on the …
  • … looked at as part of a system to ensure intercrossing. In Orchids, Darwin explained aspects of …
  • … was confident enough to repeat his prediction in print (Orchids, pp. 197–203), and speculated on the …
  • … nectaries (and the nectary varies much in length in some Orchids), and which, consequently, …
  • … in order to drain the last drop of nectar. Orchids, pp. 202–3. The moth was not …
  • … On the various contrivances by which British and foreign orchids are fertilised by insects, and on …

Earthworms

Summary

As with many of Darwin’s research topics, his interest in worms spanned nearly his entire working life. Some of his earliest correspondence about earthworms was written and received in the 1830s, shortly after his return from his Beagle voyage, and his…

Matches: 1 hits

  • … evolution by natural selection. His book Fertilisation of Orchids (1862) was Darwin's …

Darwin in letters,1870: Human evolution

Summary

The year 1870 is aptly summarised by the brief entry Darwin made in his journal: ‘The whole of the year at work on the Descent of Man & Selection in relation to Sex’.  Descent was the culmination of over three decades of observations and reflections on…

Matches: 1 hits

  • … had previously read proof-sheets of  Variation  and  Orchids , the latter when she was just …

Darwin's 1876 letters online

Summary

Birth, tragic death . . . and cardigan jackets. To mark the 211th anniversary of Darwin's birth, we have released online the transcripts and footnotes of over 460 letters written to and from him in 1876 and a supplement of 180 letters written before…

Matches: 1 hits

  • … original publisher, Smith, Elder & Co. A second edition of Orchids was published in January …
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