To Daniel Oliver 28 March [1863]1
Down Bromley Kent
March 28th
Dear Oliver
You have indeed sent me some interesting specimens. Every part of the base of the flower of Edwardsia seems to secrete a surprising quantity of nectar: I thought from what Treviranus says it did not secrete till stamens or petals were broken off, which would have been a very surprising fact.—2 What a very curious stamen you sent me: it would be fine sport to observe the living plant.3 Can it serve as protection to stigma: in a Nierembergia, I saw the stamens formed into a sort cupola over the stigma; but I neglected to get the plant for observation. What singular bracts of the Marcgraviaceæ; if I can make anything of the Pitcher plant, which I do not suppose I shall, then Marcgraviæ would be interesting to observe.—4
I will send bottle with monstrous Primrose on Monday or Tuesday,5 with the Medallion for Hooker of Dr. Darwin, (please tell him):6 I have seen one flower with 4 pistils;7 there is one in bottle one specimen with corolla removed. I remember I observed that 9 or 10 bundles of spiral vessels ran up in outer case of ovarium & up pistil, & none ran up the central needle, prolonged up the middle of pistil in growth from the placenta. I concluded at time that the single pistil is really ten pistils.— I had never heard of Caspary, but speculate whether what you say is the placenta, was not an inner whorl of pistils without stigmas.—8
With many thanks Yours very sincerely | C. Darwin
I have been looking at anther again, would it not force insects to approach only on one side & so rub against the side of anthers which dehisce?9
Footnotes
Bibliography
Correspondence: The correspondence of Charles Darwin. Edited by Frederick Burkhardt et al. 29 vols to date. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1985–.
Summary
Nectar secretion in Edwardsia. Could the stamen protect stigma?
Sends monstrous Primula with three pistils.
Had never heard of Robert Caspary, but what DO thinks is the placenta could be a whorl of pistils without stigmas.
Letter details
- Letter no.
- DCP-LETT-4063
- From
- Charles Robert Darwin
- To
- Daniel Oliver
- Sent from
- Down
- Source of text
- DAR 261.10: 43 (EH 88206026)
- Physical description
- ALS 4pp
Please cite as
Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 4063,” accessed on 26 September 2022, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-4063.xml
Also published in The Correspondence of Charles Darwin, vol. 11