From Hermann Müller 5 July 1878
Lippstadt,
July 5, 1878.
My dear Sir!
Annexed I send you some seeds which my brother Fritz has collected for you and which two of his daughters arriving here from Brazil have brought along with.1
Last year I have fertilised in different ways the two forms of Viola tricolor: a) the form with small yellowish flowers (var arvensis) b) the form with large gay-coloured flowers.2 The descendants of them are now blooming in my garden. The results are as follows:
1) a) crossed with pollen of b). The flowers of the descendants are equal in size and colour to those of a). so that I am doubtful whether cross fertilisation has been of effect—self fertilisation always very early taking place
2) a) crossed with pollen of a) from a distant locality
The same result as in 1)
3) b) crossed with pollen of a) The flowers of the descendants are in colour equal to those of b) but in size much smaller, intermediate between a) and b)
4) b) crossed with own pollen Only 6 descendants have been obtained. Flowers in colour like those of the parents, in size much smaller, even smaller than in 3).
The fertilisation of a) offers great difficulty, the cavity of the stigma often being filled with pollen grains immediately after the opening of the flower. I have attempted to remove them but some ones may easily have remained.
Unfortunately this year I am too much overwhelmed with work to continue the trials with Viola tricolor, but certainly recommence them sometime and continue through some years.
With the most sincere respects | yours | very sincerely | H Müller
CD annotations
Footnotes
Bibliography
Correspondence: The correspondence of Charles Darwin. Edited by Frederick Burkhardt et al. 29 vols to date. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1985–.
Müller, Hermann. 1878. Die Insekten als unbewußte Blumenzüchter. Kosmos 3: 314–37; 403–26; 476–99.
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.
West, David A. 2016. Darwin’s man in Brazil: the evolving science of Fritz Müller. Gainsville, Fla.: University Press of Florida.
Summary
Reports results of crosses between the two forms of Viola tricolor: 1. Female small flower crossed with male large flower yields all small flowers (cleistogamous self-fertilisation suspected); 2. Male small flower crossed with female large yields intermediate flowers; 3. Large flower crossed with large flower yields self-sterility symptoms.
Letter details
- Letter no.
- DCP-LETT-11592
- From
- Heinrich Ludwig Hermann (Hermann) Müller
- To
- Charles Robert Darwin
- Sent from
- Lippstadt
- Source of text
- DAR 171: 310
- Physical description
- ALS 2pp †
Please cite as
Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 11592,” accessed on 2 June 2023, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-11592.xml