RECORD: Darwin, C. R. 1873.10.22. Abstract of Morren, Recherches sur le mouvement et l'anatomie des étamines du Sparrmannia africana, 1841. CUL-DAR209.3.328. Edited by John van Wyhe (Darwin Online, http://darwin-online.org.uk/)
REVISION HISTORY: Transcribed by Christine Chua and edited by John van Wyhe 12.2022. 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-DAR209.3 contains materials for Darwin's book Movement in plants (1880).
Darwin cited these notes on a paper by the Belgian botanist Charles François Antoine Morren (1807-1858) in Movement in plants, p. 226: "We made no observations on the movements of the different parts of flowers. Morren, however, has observed† in the stamens of Sparmannia and Cereus a "fremissement spontané," which, it may be suspected, is a circumnutating movement. …† 'N. Mem. de l'Acad. R. de Bruxelles,' tom. xiv. 1841, p. 3."
Morren, C. 1841. Recherches sur le mouvement et l'anatomie des étamines du Sparrmannia africana. Nouveaux mémoires de l'Académie royale des sciences et belles-lettres de Bruxelles 14: 3-42.
[328]
Nouv. Mémoires. de l' Acad R. du Bruxelles Tom XIV 1841. p. 3 Ch. Morren on Sparmannia Africana (Tiliaceæ)
refers to Bull. Tom V. p. 360 where he describes "frenissement spontané des etamines" of Cereus grandiflorus.— In Annal of N. Hist Tom IV p. 388 Translation of his paper on movements of Oxalis which appeared in Bull. Tom VI. 2d Parties p. 68 — read in July 1839.—
p. 18 During sleep, when stamens are raised, they lose their excitability. — (I wonder whether Barbary stamens sleep?) — but 2 flowers which remained open at night had their stamens sensitive
p. 20 in warm greenhouse, he perceived "frenissment spontané dans les etamines"— (I might allude to this & Cereus under circumnutation of Flowers.)
p. 20 Stamen when touched or even blown move rapidly for pistils & pretty quickly back from it—
p. 23 excitement transmitted from one stamen to others
Citation: John van Wyhe, ed. 2002-. The Complete Work of Charles Darwin Online. (http://darwin-online.org.uk/)
File last updated 25 January, 2023