To J. D. Hooker 25 October [1876]1
Down, | Beckenham, Kent. | Railway Station | Orpington. S.E.R.
Oct 25th
My dear Hooker,
If you can put following request into anyone’s hands pray do so; but if not, ignore my request, as I know how busy you are.
I want any & all plants of Hoya examined to see if any imperfect flowers, like the one enclosed can be found, & if so to send them to me per post damp.2 But I especially want them as young as possible.— They are very curious. I have examined some sent me from Abinger, but they were a month or two too old & every trace of pollen & anthers had disappeared or had never been developed. Yet a very fine pod with apparently good seed had been formed by one such flower.3
Ever yours | C. Darwin
Footnotes
Bibliography
Forms of flowers: The different forms of flowers on plants of the same species. By Charles Darwin. London: John Murray. 1877.
Summary
Asks JDH to find young imperfect flowers of Hoya. CD has observed seed set although there was no trace of anthers.
Letter details
- Letter no.
- DCP-LETT-10653
- From
- Charles Robert Darwin
- To
- Joseph Dalton Hooker
- Sent from
- Down
- Source of text
- DAR 95: 425–6
- Physical description
- ALS 3pp
Please cite as
Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 10653,” accessed on 1 September 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-10653.xml
Also published in The Correspondence of Charles Darwin, vol. 24