From Leyson Lewis [before 6 August 1874]1
I inclose a specimen of the male Hop with apparently female flowers at the tips of the branches, on the chance of its having some interest for the naturalist.2 I observed it this morning, and though accustomed to walk Hop grounds for years I have never seen the two sexes on the same Hop plant before.3 Perhaps, however, it is but the growth of the flower into a male catkin.
There are other male plants in the same ground, but I have not seen any other instance of this peculiarity. The whole Hop hill grows in the same way. If we obtain seed, might not it be possible to select a strain of Hops which are uniformly monœcious on the same plant?4
The Hop ground is in Boughton Monchelsea, facing south, very warm, and of strong rich soil.
L. Lewis, East Farleigh. 5
Footnotes
Bibliography
Post Office directory of the six home counties: Post Office directory of the six home counties, viz., Essex, Herts, Kent, Middlesex, Surrey and Sussex. London: W. Kelly & Co. 1845–78.
Summary
Encloses specimen of a male hop with female flowers. It is the only peculiarity in the ground.
Letter details
- Letter no.
- DCP-LETT-9589F
- From
- Leyson Lewis
- To
- Charles Robert Darwin
- Sent from
- East Farleigh
- Source of text
- Gardeners’ Chronicle, 8 August 1874, p. 174
Please cite as
Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 9589F,” accessed on 24 April 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-9589F.xml
Also published in The Correspondence of Charles Darwin, vol. 22
