Pollination and floral structure of Lathyrus. Asks where bees bite through the flowers.
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The Charles Darwin Collection
The Darwin Correspondence Project is publishing letters written by and to the naturalist Charles Darwin (1809–1882). Complete transcripts of letters are being made available through the Project’s website (www.darwinproject.ac.uk) after publication in the ongoing print edition of The Correspondence of Charles Darwin (Cambridge University Press 1985–). Metadata and summaries of all known letters (c. 15,000) appear in Ɛpsilon, and the full texts of available letters can also be searched, with links to the full texts.
Pollination and floral structure of Lathyrus. Asks where bees bite through the flowers.
Has been investigating nutational movements of climbing plants; comments on the opinions of Julius von Wiesner and Julius Sachs. Remarks on the sleep movements of certain plants and the mechanism of tendril curvature. Is experimenting with Porlieria.
Has visited K. G. Semper’s laboratory.
Notes Julius Sachs’s opinion on the heliotropism of moulds: he can see no use in the response.
C. E. Stahl is working on swarm spores which can be made both helio- and apheliotropic.
Sachs has told him that some ferns sleep, and he suspects that some grasses may move.
Sachs also feels they may be working at bloom from a wrong point of view and suggests leaves may need to keep dry in order to keep their stomata open.
Forwards an unspecified work for FD to read.
Sends letter and seeds from [F. J. Cohn].
Is working too hard.
Julius von Sachs will "swear & curse" when he finds out he has missed sensitiveness of root apex. Has been putting his notes together and the case is conclusive. [Dated "Saturday 10th" by CD.]
A report has arrived for FD which CD will forward.
Has had conflicting information on the movement of radicles; wants FD to experiment with them.
Asks whether canary grass and oats have chlorophyll in their cotyledons.
Has been working hard at circumnutation of leaves to see whether sleep movements are exaggerated circumnutation.
Has been observing the movements of leaves and cotyledons; sleep movements are exaggerated circumnutation. Reports some odd observations on movement in Oxalis species.
Can send FD twisted branches of some climbing plants if he wishes.
Asks questions related to movement in plants. The cotyledons of Oxalis offer a promising field for study.
Wonders why Julius von Sachs thinks bloom is a protection against insects.
Encloses notes on the cotyledons of Oxalis species.
Will dispatch the best twisted stems he can find.
Considers the role of the pulvinus in leaf movement.
Suggests FD call on Carl Semper.
Inquires about Porlieria: Do the leaves shut to check evaporation? Does it appear silver under water?
Explains how he thinks the pulvinus acts; wishes FD would investigate the point.
Has a magnificent bush of Porlieria. There is no vestige of bloom; CD will test for sleep movements. Reports successful experiments on temperature-induced sensitivity of radicles.
Describes sleep movements in Porlieria and his experiments on movements of radicles.
Thalia flowers have interesting mechanism to ensure cross-fertilisation.
Asks for list of families of sleeping plants. Believes sleep is merely modified circumnutation at a particular time of day.
Porlieria has had no water for some time but shows no sign of flagging.
Describes the response of Thalia flowers to touch.
Discusses sleep movements of Porlieria.
Has read an abstract of Julius Wiesner on heliotropism and geotropism ["Die heliotropischen Erscheinungen im Pflanzenreiche", Anz. Kais. Akad. Wiss. Wien 15 (1878): 137–40] which seems important but is puzzling.
Gives details of his observations on climbing plants with reference to comments by Julius Sachs.
Has offered Carl Semper the writing machine.
Speculates on the mechanism of movement in plants and their reception of and response to stimuli.
Is forwarding the writing machine to Carl Semper.
Is glad FD has taken up his old friends, the twiners.
Hopes to get heliotropic aerial roots from J. D. Hooker. Asks FD to find out whether any moulds or roots are apheliotropic. Is puzzled by heliotropism in subterranean roots.