RECORD: Darwin, C. R. [1872-1873]. ['On the movement of the leaves of Drosera'], folio 118. CUL-DAR61.107. (John van Wyhe ed., 2002-. The Complete Work of Charles Darwin Online, http://darwin-online.org.uk/)
REVISION HISTORY: Transcribed by Christine Chua and edited by John van Wyhe 12.2022. RN2
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 volumes CUL-DAR 54-61 contain material for Darwin's book Insectivorous plants (1875).
The volume CUL-DAR61 contains Darwin's draft essay 'On the movement of the leaves of Drosera', written 1872-1873. He intended to publish this with a revised edition of Climbing plants before commencing a larger book draft in April 1874 which became Insectivorous plants. See the introduction to this essay by John van Wyhe.
[107]
(118
The glands on the central disc of all six leaves were much injured & app apparently killed; hence so that the salt acts as a local poison; but the tentacles which had not been inflected & had not themselves received any of the solution were quite uninjured, so that the poison, as in the case of Hydrocyanic acid, does not seem to spread. The three leaves which had their tentacles more or less inflected, remained in the same state for three days, but were not observed after this period.
Citation: John van Wyhe, ed. 2002-. The Complete Work of Charles Darwin Online. (http://darwin-online.org.uk/)
File last updated 23 February, 2026