To W. T. Thiselton-Dyer [20–4 August 1877]1
Down, | Beckenham, Kent. | Railway Station | Orpington. S.E.R. [Abinger Hall, Surrey.]
My dear Dyer
There is no end to my requests. Can you spare me a good plant (or even two) of Oxalis sensitiva. The one which I have (formerly from Kew) has been so maltreated that I dare not trust my results any longer.2
Please give the enclosed to Mr. Lynch.— The spontaneous movements of the Averrhoa are very curious.—3
You sent me seeds of Trifolium resupinatum, & I have raised plants & some former observations which I did not dare to trust, have proved accurate.4 It is a very little fact, but curious. The half of the lateral leaflets (marked by a cross) on the lower side
have no bloom & are wetted, whereas the other half has bloom & is not wetted, so that the two sides look different to the naked eye. The cells of the epidermis appear of a different shape & size on the 2 sides of the leaf.
When we have drawings & measurements of cells made, & are sure of our facts I shall ask you whether you know of any case of the same leaf differing histologically on the two sides, for Hooker always says you are a wonderful man for knowing what has been made out.—
Yours very sincerely | Ch. Darwin
We are staying at Abinger Hall, but return home on Saturday.5
Footnotes
Summary
Discusses plants sent for experiments and "bloom" on leaves of Trifolium.
Sends enclosure for R. I. Lynch.
Letter details
- Letter no.
- DCP-LETT-11086
- From
- Charles Robert Darwin
- To
- William Turner Thiselton-Dyer
- Sent from
- Down
- Source of text
- Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (Darwin: Letters to Thiselton-Dyer, 1873–81: ff. 87–8) (Image reproduced with the kind permission of the Board of Trustees)
- Physical description
- ALS 3pp †
Please cite as
Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 11086,” accessed on 28 March 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-11086.xml