A plant in St Helena
Date
8 February 1688
Creator
Unknown, Artist
Object type
Archive reference number
Manuscript page number
p184
Material
Dimensions
height (page): 315mm
width (page): 200mm
width (page): 200mm
Subject
Content object
Description
A tiny sketch (height: 18 mm, width: 30 mm) at the bottom of the page, showing a plant resembling an adianthum found in St Helena, which had leaves from which another plant complete with roots grew.
Transcription
Mr. Halley related that in the Iland of St Helena there was a sort of Dianthum, which bord perfect plants with a root on the Extremities of its leaves, and those sometimes will have others or Grand child (if such an expression may be allowed) growing out of their leaves; and that when the parent plant decays, the young ones fall to the ground and there take root, and so shift for themselves.
Transcribed by the Making Visible project
Transcribed by the Making Visible project
Object history
8 February 1688, 'Mr. Halley related that in the Island of St Helena there was a sort of Adianthum, which bore perfect plants with a root on the Extremeties of its leaves, and those sometimes will have others or Grandchild plants (if such an expression may be allowed) growing out of their leaves; and that when the parent plant decays, the young ones fall to the ground and there take root, and so shift for themselves' (Correspondence and Papers of Edmond Halley, ed. by E. F. MacPike (Oxford: Clarendon, 1932), p. 211).
Related fellows
Edmond Halley (1656 - 1742, British) , Astronomer