[printed notepaper:]
25, Wilton Place.
S.W.
London
June 12/75
My dear Sir
The Vellozicæ as a group of Amaryllideæ are now recognised as consisting of three genera Vellozia [Mort?] with indefinite stamens Barbacenia [Vand.?] with stamens in 3 phalanges and Xerophyta Jussieu with 6 stamens and connivent anthers<.> The two former are entirely Brazilian<.> Xerophyta contains about a dozen species from South Africa and Madagascar and about half a dozen from Brazil and to this genus belongs your plant from Natal. In the great Flora Brasiliensis Xerophyta was considered as a section of Vellozia and Hooker in the Botanical Magazine adopted that view not having then leisure to review the group – but the above distinction of the three genera is taken up by Mr Baker who has been working up the petaliferous Monocotyledons with great care and I fully agree with him. If Xerophyta were to be united with Vellozia the name has the right of priority but there is no occasion for that. It is a pity that Balfour proposed a new name without investigating Jussieu’s genus – and more especially that he named it after you who ought to be the patron of an undisputable genus 1
Yours very truly
George Bentham
H. Fox Talbot Esqr
Please cite as “TALBOT5613,” in Ɛpsilon: accessed on