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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
- … depending on the size of the pollen eaten by each type of fly. It is amazing that Müller, writing in …
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 …
- … about the visits of insects which quite puzzles me.— The Fly-Ophrys seems hardly ever to get its …
- … ’ So began Darwin’s interest in the floral morphology of orchids, but it was another few years …
- … Ophrys muscifera (a synonym of O. insectifera , the fly orchid) and noted that only a small …
- … 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, …
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: 4 hits
- … experimental manipulation under the microscope. Orchids and climbing plants: adaptation in …
- … other things, he compared the viscid matter of the discs in orchids with free nectar to those with …
- … adaptation was the main focus in Darwin’s work on both orchids and climbing plants, physiological …
- … the nerve-like response of a leaf of Dionaea (Venus fly trap) when stimulated with an induction …
Darwin's in letters, 1873: Animal or vegetable?
Summary
Having laboured for nearly five years on human evolution, sexual selection, and the expression of emotions, Darwin was able to devote 1873 almost exclusively to his beloved plants. He resumed work on the digestive powers of sundews and Venus fly traps, and…
Matches: 3 hits
Darwin in letters, 1860: Answering critics
Summary
On 7 January 1860, John Murray published the second edition of Darwin’s Origin of species, printing off another 3000 copies to satisfy the demands of an audience that surprised both the publisher and the author. It wasn't long, however, before ‘the…
Matches: 1 hits
- … attitude soon faded, however, when ‘the stones began to fly’. His ‘dearly beloved’ theory suffered a …
Darwin in letters, 1869: Forward on all fronts
Summary
At the start of 1869, Darwin was hard at work making changes and additions for a fifth edition of Origin. He may have resented the interruption to his work on sexual selection and human evolution, but he spent forty-six days on the task. Much of the…
Dipsacus and Drosera: Frank’s favourite carnivores
Summary
In Autumn of 1875, Francis Darwin was busy researching aggregation in the tentacles of Drosera rotundifolia (F. Darwin 1876). This phenomenon occurs when coloured particles within either protoplasm or the fluid in the cell vacuole (the cell sap) cluster…
Matches: 1 hits
- … experiments on Amanita (agaricus) muscaria (the fly agaric mushroom), from which Francis …
Darwin in letters, 1874: A turbulent year
Summary
The year 1874 was one of consolidation, reflection, and turmoil for Darwin. He spent the early months working on second editions of Coral reefs and Descent of man; the rest of the year was mostly devoted to further research on insectivorous plants. A…
