From J. T. Moggridge 19 July [1864]
The Willows | Swansea
July 19th.
Dear Sir
thankyou very much for your kind letter received this morning: giving me most interesting news of the possible dimorphism of Trichonema, & of the Cowslip & Primrose as being distinct.1
I venture to offer my notes made upon Romulea Rollii; premising that when at Mentone I was yet ignorant of the wonderful uses of Dimorphism, & so may have overlooked some points of value—2
According to my observations this plant is in blow at 10.a-m, & completely withered by 2.p.m; but during that short time the stamens increase in height more rapidly than the Pistil, so that the stigma which was on first expansion above them, is at the bases of the Anthers when the flower closes—
I was especially led to notice the change of relative position, as the foreign Authors have considered that the height of the stigma with regard to that of the Anthers as a good specific distinction—
I enclose a scrap of paper on which is a dissection made from a flower of Romulea Rollii after closing—
In my last letter I used the term Oxlip to express those plants which are neither Cowslips or Primroses but resemble both, & of which there are several on the mountains near Mentone.3 One of these is P. variabilis of Grenier & Godron—4
believe me | yrs very sincerely | J. Traherne. Moggridge.
[Enclosure]
CD annotations
Footnotes
Bibliography
Willis, John Christopher. 1973. A dictionary of the flowering plants and ferns. 8th edition. Revised by H. K. Airy Shaw. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Summary
Offers notes on Romulea rollii with sketch of a dissection.
Letter details
- Letter no.
- DCP-LETT-4570
- From
- John Traherne Moggridge
- To
- Charles Robert Darwin
- Sent from
- Swansea
- Postmark
- JY 19 64
- Source of text
- DAR 110: A25a, A25b
- Physical description
- ALS 2pp † sketch
Please cite as
Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 4570,” accessed on 26 April 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-4570.xml
Also published in The Correspondence of Charles Darwin, vol. 12