From W. E. Darwin   21 June [1866]1

Southton

June 21

My Dear Father,

I send 2 females with outlines of my sketches, the 4 females outlined are from 4 different trees.2

I have all particulars down about them if you care for them.

I should it say it certainly was case of dimorphic become diœcious3

Broomfield says “dioecious said to be polygamous”.4

diagram

AL incomplete

CD annotations

1.1 4 females] ‘flowers’ added pencil; erased
End of letter: ‘Primordial’5 pencil
1
The year is established by the relationship between this letter and the letter from W. E. Darwin, 20 June [1866].
2
William’s original sketches of Rhamnus cathartica, together with extensive notes on each specimen, are in DAR 186: 43.
4
William refers to the description of Rhamnus cathartica in Bromfield 1856, a flora of the Isle of Wight. The description reads: ‘dioecious, or sometimes, it is said, polygamous’ (Bromfield 1856, p. 107).

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-5129,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-5129