To W. C. Williamson   24 October [1877]1

Down, | Beckenham, Kent. | Railway Station | Orpington. S.E.R.

Oct. 24th

My dear Sir

It is very kind of you to have taken so much trouble. The specimens are quite beautiful.2 A circular star-formed disc with most elegant glands. D. spathulata must be descended from some form like D. rotundifolia.—

Yours faithfully & obliged | Ch. Darwin

1
The year is established by the relationship between this letter and the letter from W. C. Williamson, 23 October 1877.
2
Williamson had sent CD specimens of Drosera spathulata (Australian sundew) to replace ones he had sent earlier that had been damaged in transit (see letter to W. C. Williamson, 22 October [1877], and letter from W. C. Williamson, 23 October 1877). Drosera rotundifolia is the common or round-leaved sundew.

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-11206,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-11206