From Daniel Oliver   13 September 1862

At CD’s request, Oliver had sent him a number of fresh specimens of Lythrum with his letter of 4 September 1862, including the rare L. hyssopifolia, plants and seeds of which CD had attempted to obtain from several correspondents (see letter to C. C. Babington, 2 September [1862] and n. 3). CD had written again, in a letter that has not been found, apparently to ask Oliver to obtain seed of this species for him (see CD’s annotations to the letter from Daniel Oliver, 4 September 1862).

CD’s letter has not been found; however, see CD’s diagrams of Lythrum salicaria in the letter to W. E. Darwin, [2–3 August 1862], and in the letter to Asa Gray, [3–]4 September [1862].

Oliver refers to CD’s work on dimorphic and trimorphic plants. His diagrams represent cross-sections of the inflorescences of the Compositae, indicating the differences between the ray flowers and the disc flowers. From left to right they indicate: ray flowers bisexual, disc flowers bisexual; ray flowers female, disc flowers bisexual; ray flowers sterile, disc flowers bisexual; and ray flowers female, disc flowers male (all these combinations occur in Compositae).

The German geologist and palaeontologist, Friedrich Rolle, had apparently sent CD a copy of the first part of his popular exposition of CD’s theory (Rolle 1863; see letter to Daniel Oliver, [17 September 1862] and n. 10).

The German dendrologist and ornithologist, Carl August Bolle, had collected and identified plants in the Canary and Cape Verde islands (Taxonomic literature).