# De Candolle — The Origin of Species character guide

> De Candolle in The Origin of Species by Charles Darwin.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** De Candolle, Alph . de Candolle, de Candolle, the elder De Candolle, Alph . De Candolle, Alph, The elder De Candolle

**First appearance:** 0004-i-variation-under-domestication

## Snapshot

A veteran botanist whose world-spanning study of oaks admits, with disarming honesty, that species boundaries dissolve the better we know them.

## Who they are

De Candolle brings the authority of a lifetime's labor on the oaks of the whole world, and his conclusion is unexpectedly destabilizing: the best-known species show the most varieties, and intermediate forms flow in as knowledge grows. He is the elder statesman who, without intending to, supplies Darwin with evidence that species are not fixed, well-defined units. His admission that two-thirds of oak species are doubtful gives the theory a foothold in mainstream botany, and his numerical care makes the argument harder to wave away.

## Relationships

### [Charles Darwin](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_origin_of_species_se/characters/charles_darwin)

_professional_

Darwin referenced De Candolle's work on plant geography and the struggle for existence in nature.

## In the story

### [II: Variation Under Nature](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_origin_of_species_se/chapters/ii-variation-under-nature)

Noted for showing that plants with wide ranges often produce varieties.

### [Doubtful Species](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_origin_of_species_se/chapters/doubtful-species)

His memoir on oaks is discussed, showing that even the best-known species have many varieties and that specific limits are often doubtful.

### [Wide-Ranging, Much Diffused, and Common Species Vary Most](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_origin_of_species_se/chapters/wide-ranging-much-diffused-and-common-species-vary-most)

Showed that plants with wide ranges generally present varieties.

### [III: Struggle for Existence](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_origin_of_species_se/chapters/iii-struggle-for-existence)

Cited as having shown that all organic beings are exposed to severe competition.

### [Divergence of Character](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_origin_of_species_se/chapters/divergence-of-character)

Alph. de Candolle's work on naturalisation is referenced, noting that floras gain proportionally more new genera than new species through naturalisation.

### [Convergence of Character](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_origin_of_species_se/chapters/convergence-of-character)

Alph. de Candolle showed that widely spreading species tend to spread very widely, supplanting others.

### [Correlated Variation](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_origin_of_species_se/chapters/correlated-variation)

Mentioned for founding main divisions in Umbelliferae on seed shape differences, and for noting that winged seeds are never found in fruits that do not open.

### [On the Absence or Rarity of Transitional Varieties](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_origin_of_species_se/chapters/on-the-absence-or-rarity-of-transitional-varieties)

Cited for observations on the abrupt disappearance of alpine species.

### [Means of Dispersal](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_origin_of_species_se/chapters/means-of-dispersal)

Mentioned regarding the restricted ranges of plants with large seeds or fruit.

### [Alternate Glacial Periods in the North and South](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_origin_of_species_se/chapters/alternate-glacial-periods-in-the-north-and-south)

Mentioned for his insistence on the preponderant migration from north to south in Australia.

### [Geographical Distribution—Continued](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_origin_of_species_se/chapters/xiii-geographical-distribution-continued)

Discussed in relation to the law that lower groups of organisms range more widely, as observed in plants.

### [Freshwater Productions](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_origin_of_species_se/chapters/freshwater-productions)

Referenced for remarks on the wide range of aquatic plants and the distribution of Nelumbium.

### [On the Inhabitants of Oceanic Islands](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_origin_of_species_se/chapters/on-the-inhabitants-of-oceanic-islands)

Cited for admitting that oceanic islands have fewer plant species than continental areas, and for noting that trees generally have confined ranges.

### [On the Relations of the Inhabitants of Islands to Those of the Nearest Mainland](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_origin_of_species_se/chapters/on-the-relations-of-the-inhabitants-of-islands-to-those-of-the-nearest-mainland)

Referenced regarding the wide range of lower organisms and the distribution of naturalized species.

### [On the Nature of the Affinities Connecting Organic Beings](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_origin_of_species_se/chapters/on-the-nature-of-the-affinities-connecting-organic-beings)

The elder De Candolle made similar observations on the general nature of affinities in distinct families of plants.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_origin_of_species_se/characters/de_candolle
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_origin_of_species_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_origin_of_species_se/characters