Ɛpsilon

From W. W. Bailey   [November 1877]1

31 Market Square, | Providence, R.I. United States.

Charles Darwin, F. R. S.

Dear Sir,

I was pleased to learn that you were interested in the various contents of my last note.2 When th⁠⟨⁠at⁠⟩⁠ was written I was unable to send you the flowers of Bouv⁠⟨⁠ard⁠⟩⁠ia Leiantha, but I now inclose them.3 The gardener in w⁠⟨⁠h⁠⟩⁠ose ⁠⟨⁠ho⁠⟩⁠thouse they grew, said the long-styled form was a sport. ⁠⟨⁠I⁠⟩⁠ suspect that in a s⁠⟨⁠tat⁠⟩⁠e of nature it is sport that means mischief. The long-stamened clusters are comparatively scarce, & Dr Gray, in the last Torrey Bulletin confirms what I said about Gentiana Andrewsii: it is visited by humble-bees.4

I hope the pressed plants within will arrive safely and be of some use to you,

Respectfully yours | W. Whitman Bailey

Instructor of Botany | Brown University—

CD note:

Dried flowers Bouvardia | Measure pollen & length of Pistil & Stamens

1
The date is established by the reference to Asa Gray’s article, which was published in October (see n. 4, below), and by the relationship between this letter and the letter to W. W. Bailey, 10 December [1877], in which CD mentions the arrival of some specimens.
2
See letter from W. W. Bailey, 28 September 1877. CD’s reply has not been found.
3
In his letter of 28 September 1877, Bailey promised to send CD dried specimens of the Mexican plants Bouvardia leiantha (an evergreen shrub of the madder family). In Forms of flowers, p. 135, CD had cited Bailey 1876 for his claim that the plant was heterostyled.
4
In the October issue of the Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club, Asa Gray described how humble-bees forced their way into the closed flowers of Gentiana andrewsii (bottle gentian; A. Gray 1877b); he cited Bailey’s observations from the September issue of the same journal (Bailey 1877).

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-11162,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-11162