Darwin's Evolutionary Botany

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The objective of this project is to reconstruct the intellectual development of Darwin's botany over the course of his long scientific career. The required activities include study of a large collection of archival and printed sources in order to (1) establish the precise links between Darwin's ideas on plant sexuality and physiology and the botanical works of late 17th to early 19th century botany, (2) establish a detailed picture of the botanical and horticultural activities of Darwin's family, particularly Erasmus Darwin, Robert Waring Darwin, and John Wedgwood, (3) establish the content of Charles Darwin's botanical education in Cambridge with Professor John Stevens Henslow and Darwin's involvement with Henslow's research, (4) establish the scope of Darwin's botanical collections during the Beagle voyage and determine its significance for the emergence of his transmutation theory, (5) establish the relationship between his interest in plant sexuality and the emergence of natural selection, (6) establish the scope of Darwin's post- Notebooks observations on floral anatomy, (7) establish the links between Darwin's barnacle work and his interest in plant hermaphrodites, (8) establish the role of floristic and biodiversity experiments at Down for the formation of the principle of divergence during the writing of the Origin, and (9) establish the points of initiation and further development of the research program leading to each of his six botanical books including the links to botanical research in Britain, Europe and America. The archival sources that will be interpreted--primarily located at Cambridge University Library--include many folios of scientific notes, drafts, extensive marginal annotations on books and periodicals in Darwin's library, and detailed abstracts of serials and botanical books. A significant amount of transcription of Darwin's scientific notes, particularly those related to the Power of Movement will be undertaken. The historical methods that will be deployed are close reading of texts, tracking of sources, and contextualization. Intellectual Merit: The intellectual merits of the reconstruction that will be developed from this research are as follows: it will (1) show how Darwin translated prior botanical traditions into an evolutionary context, (2) illuminate the roles botany played in the development and maturation of Darwin overall evolutionary theory, and (3) show how Darwin, in association with botanical colleagues, laid the foundations for evolutionary botany. This will be the first comprehensive study of Darwin's botany. Broader Impacts: The broadest impact of this study will be to bring an understanding of Darwin's botany to a wide public audience by way of a clearly organized and engagingly written narrative account of Darwin's scientific life as a botanist. Related activities of the PI, based on the research for Darwin's Evolutionary Botany, including participation in international exhibits and the Darwin at Downe Nominated World Heritage Site will raise awareness of the important evolutionary and ecological themes of Darwin's botany and will deepen public understanding of his scientific practice and creativity.