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Mutants in our Midst
| Content Provider | Semantic Scholar |
|---|---|
| Author | Friedman, William E. |
| Copyright Year | 2013 |
| Abstract | a human celebration, whether conscious or unconscious, of the very fact of evolution. It is thousands of years of detecting and rejoicing in the rare: the selection of the novel form that somehow pleases the human aesthetic or serves to feed the world. Although often overlooked, many of the wonderful horticultural varieties that grow in botanical gardens (as well as in backyard gardens) are premier examples of the amazing and ongoing process of evolution: random mutations that lead, on the rarest of occasions, to novel and desirable biological characteristics—as opposed to novel and neutral or undesirable characteristics. Charles Darwin was an avid consumer of horticultural literature and information, and was a frequent correspondent with the most eminent horticulturists of the nineteenth century. Over the course of his life, he wrote 55 notes and articles in the Gardeners’ Chronicle and Agricultural Gazette, one of the most widely circulated horticultural periodicals of his time. He covered everything from how pea and bean flowers are pollinated (Darwin 1857, 1858, 1866) to the origin of variant forms of roses in cultivation (Darwin 1868). He wrote of his observations of and interest in the origin of double-flowered forms (Darwin 1843) and variegated leaves (Darwin 1844). No horticultural phenomenon was beyond his interest. Indeed, Darwin looked to the world of horticulture and plant domestication in order to gain critical insights into the generation of variation and the process of natural selection that underlie evolutionary change. In essence, Darwin was intensely interested in mutants in our midst. |
| Starting Page | 2 |
| Ending Page | 14 |
| Page Count | 13 |
| File Format | PDF HTM / HTML |
| Volume Number | 71 |
| Alternate Webpage(s) | http://arnoldia.arboretum.harvard.edu/pdf/issues/2013-71-1-Arnoldia.pdf |
| Alternate Webpage(s) | https://arboretum.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/2013-71-1-mutants-in-our-midst.pdf |
| Language | English |
| Access Restriction | Open |
| Content Type | Text |
| Resource Type | Article |
