The Origin of Species · Character

Gärtner

A tireless hybridizer whose crossing experiments Darwin keeps invoking, as if the fertility of plants could settle the deepest questions about what a species really is.

supporting

Also known as Gartner, Both Gartner

First appearance: i variation under domestication

As a supporting figure in The Origin of Species, Gärtner is not background color—the story leans on what they do once the chapter opens.

Referenced for demonstrating that a plant's own pollen is prepotent over foreign pollen when crossing distinct species.

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Gärtner stands among the experimenters whose careful crosses Darwin cites when the argument turns to sterility and hybridism. His work supplies the awkward facts: species crossed often yield sterile offspring, while varieties crossed remain fertile, a distinction Darwin must explain rather than assume. He matters because his results force the theory to confront its hardest case, and because Darwin treats him not as an authority to bow to but as evidence to weigh.

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See Gärtner in i variation under domestication

Character Web

7 connections

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Relationship types

Other

Character groups

Hybridization experimenters
Protagonist
Broad intellectual network

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Narrative arc

Story tension across the book — this chapter sits in Exposition.

Setup
Escalation
Breaking point
Aftermath
Closing

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In the story

Gärtner appears across 8 companion beats. Open any chapter in the free preview to see the notes beside the text.

On the Intercrossing of Individuals
Referenced for demonstrating that a plant's own pollen is prepotent over foreign pollen when crossing distinct species.
IX: Hybridism
Cited as a careful experimenter who also made the rule of sterility universal, but whose methods (castration, seclusion) may have impaired fertility.
Degrees of Sterility
Another meticulous hybridiser whose experiments on sterility are discussed; Darwin notes his methods may have impaired fertility and that his conclusions sometimes conflict with Kölreuter's.
Laws Governing the Sterility of First Crosses and of Hybrids
Darwin draws heavily on Gärtner's work on plant hybridisation to illustrate the gradation of fertility and the rules governing crosses.
Origin and Causes of the Sterility of First Crosses and of Hybrids
Cited for experiments showing graded sterility in crosses within genera.
Reciprocal Dimorphism and Trimorphism
Cited as an excellent observer who concluded that species sterility is due to differences in the reproductive system.
Fertility of Varieties When Crossed, and of Their Mongrel Offspring, Not Universal
Conducted experiments on maize and Verbascum showing sterility between varieties.
Hybrids and Mongrels Compared, Independently of Their Fertility
Gärtner's experiments are central to the comparison of hybrids and mongrels; he found few and unimportant differences between them.

Chapter companion notes

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See Gärtner in i variation under domestication

See Gärtner in On the Intercrossing of Individuals