The Different Froms Of Flowers On Plants Of The Same Species

Arka Kapak Yazısı: After the publication of On the Origin of Species in 1859 Darwin became fascinated
with the potential for botanical experiments to provide evidence for the process of evolution. First
published in 1877, this volume is based on a series of papers concerning heterostylous plants

(species which produce different types of flowers) originally published in the Journal of the
Proceedings of the Linnaen Society in 1862. Linnaeus had divided the sexual relations of flowers into
four groups, which Darwin uses as the structure for this volume. Darwin examines in detail plants
which produce different flower forms, presenting his conclusions in terms of adaptive evolution and so
providing the first functional interpretation of heterostyly. He demonstrates that these plants are
adapted for cross-fertilisation, not self-fertilisation as was widely believed. The concepts which Darwin
introduces in this volume continue to provide the basis for research into plant reproductive biology.