On the Various Contrivances by Which British and Foreign Orchids are Fertilised by Insects,and the Good Effects of Intercrossing

On the Various Contrivances by Which British and Foreign Orchids are Fertilised by Insects,and the Good Effects of Intercrossing by Charles Darwin. Hardcover edition. ISBN: 9781904078098.

Charles Darwin was fascinated by the way the flowers of orchids had evolved to attract specific insects. Noting the very long spur of Angraecum sesquipedale, he predicted that it could only be fertilized by a moth with a 35cm tongue, a statement that was ridiculed until such a species was discovered after his death. This limited edition facsimile of his seminal 1862 book on the subject is bound in cloth using traditional methods.