Author: Sprengel, Christian Konrad
Title: Das Entdeckte Geheimnis Der Natur IM Bau Und in Der Befruchtung Der Blumen. Mit 25 Kupfertafln. First Edition. Plate Volume Only
Description: Berlin: Friedrich Vieweg dem aeltern, 1793. 4to. 21 x 25 cm. later marbled boards. All 25 engraved plates from Das entdeckte Geheimnis der Natur im Bau und in der Befruchtung der Blumen, engraved by Capieux & Wohlgemuth, minor spotting. OCLC Number: 800990678; 7391873469 Scarce first edition of this milestone on the road to understanding the biology of flowers. Sprengel's magnum opus constitutes the first attempt to explain the origin of organic forms from definite relations to the environment, and it served as a main source of inspiration for Darwin, whom it provided with evidence for his theory of evolution. With his milestone work "The Newly Revealed Mystery of Nature in the Structure and Fertilization of Flowers", Christian Konrad Sprengel (1750 -1816) became the first to recognize that the function of flowers was to attract insects, and that nature favoured cross-pollination. With Darwin's recognition and reconfirmation of Sprengel's results, the work came to set the foundations for the modern study of floral biology and anthecology."In the summer of 1787 Sprengel began observing the pollination of Geranium flowers. These relationships of flower structure, insect visitors, and pollination mechanisms occupied him for the next six years and culminated in the publication of his great work, "Das entdeckte Geheimniss der Natur im Bau und in der Befruchtung der Blumen", in 1793. .

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