RECORD: Darwin, C. R. 1878.03.16-17. Vegetable Marrow Apogeotropism. CUL-DAR209.11.39. Edited by John van Wyhe (Darwin Online, http://darwin-online.org.uk/)

REVISION HISTORY: Transcribed by Christine Chua and edited by John van Wyhe 7.2023. RN1

NOTE: See record in the Darwin Online manuscript catalogue, enter its Identifier here. Reproduced with permission of the Syndics of Cambridge University Library and William Huxley Darwin. The volume CUL-DAR209.11 contains material for Darwin's book Movement in plants (1880).


[39]

Vegetable Marrow Apogeotropism

March 16th Plant 2 ft high in Pot tied to stick growing straight up. — terminal shoot curved to one side & glass filament fixed to it. (See tracing) fell from weight at first from 8° 35 to 9.8— Pot being laid horizontally, kept dark— traced on Vertical glass. By 10° 20 had risen & continued to rise till 4° P.m, but by 5° had fallen & travelled to one side.

Here apo-geotropism acts first much more energetically than afterwards— The rise from 9° 8° or 9° 15 to 4° was not absolutely straight, yet shows only trace of circumnutation compared with great circumnutation which commenced after 4°. Moreover after 3° 10 plant placed closer to glass so Tracing less magnified.

We may conclude that apogeotropism checks circumnutation.

We learn that stem is a circumnutation for it made ellipse in between about 4° 30' - 7. 30' ie in about 3°.— Next morning (cold) circumnutated very little. Stem curved for di considerable distance from apex, & stood on morning of 17' above 42° above Horizon; The filament on the terminal shoot stood only 22° above horizon, for this was curved up by the lower shoots in an oblique direction. The check to circumnutation probably is due to whole lower half of cylindrical stem growing more rapidly than the upper half. —


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Citation: John van Wyhe, ed. 2002-. The Complete Work of Charles Darwin Online. (http://darwin-online.org.uk/)

File last updated 19 August, 2023