Ɛpsilon

To D. F. Nevill   6 April [1876–82]1

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

April 6th

Dear Lady Dorothy Nevill

I received the flowers of the Darlingtonia which you were so kind as to order to be sent me this morning.—2 It is a most curious flower, & I cannot pretend to understand its manner of fertilisation.— I am very much obliged for your kind invitation, which I regret it is impossible for me to accept.—3

I remain your Ladyship’s | Truly obliged | Charles Darwin

1
The date range is established by the form of printed address, which CD used from November 1874 until his death on 19 April 1882. The letter could not have been written in 1875 because CD was away from Down on 6 April 1875 (CD’s ‘Journal’ (DAR 158)).
2
Darlingtonia is the monospecific genus of California pitcher-plants. CD borrowed a plant from Kew at the end of January 1879; he returned it on 4 February (see Correspondence vol. 27, letters to W. T. Thiselton-Dyer, 25 January [1879] and 3 February 1879).
3
The invitation has not been found.

Manuscript Alterations and Comments

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Please cite as “DCP-LETT-9915,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-9915