From Ferdinand von Mueller to William Hooker   26 Apr 1855

Bot. gardens, Melbourne, 26 April 55

Sir William

Being disappointed in getting all my alpine collections together by this¹ time, I have been unable making up such a collection by the "Red Jacket" as would have been worth sending to you. As this however is one of the regular Clippers I will not loose time to forward to you a few lines. — Prof. Harvey, this excellent and learned man, will leave our shores in a day or two for Sydney, proceeding probably to Moreton Bay.² You may imagine how pleasant hours I spent with him. He supplied the Governments collection and my own herbarium with a beautiful set of algae and had the kindness of arranging my own, so that I have now ample material for working now and then a little in such an interesting order of plants.³ We made also some selections of duplicates from my phanerogamae for the Dublin collection.

In a letter,⁴ which I despatched about a fourthnight ago I gave some additional information on the flora of the Alps, having subjected several of my plants to an analysis, vize Caltha Novae Zeelandiae,⁵ Boronia algida, Phebalium ovatifolium,⁶ Drapetes Tasmanica, Diplaspis Hydrocotyle, Ranunculus anemoneus, Euphrasia alsa, Drosera Arcturi, Ranunculus Millani, Herpetolirion Tasmaniae?⁷, a new genus of Umbelliferae distinct from all in having 10 petals, or rather 5 petaloid sepals = Dichopetalum ranunculaceum,⁸ Paederota densifolia. There are besides a few other beautiful species, but I have not yet examined them.

I enclose the diagnosis of the two only proteaceae, that have been discovered during this journey, as, if they become a place through your kindness in the miscellany, they would be yet in time for the additamenta of DC prodr. vol. XIV.⁹ Both are very distinct species, unless O. lancifolia should be identical with Orites Milligani, of which I have only seen the names in Meisners enumeration of Drummonds proteaceae in your journal.¹⁰ Our botanic garden offered also two new plants this year; one (Greevesia cleisocalyx)¹¹ was raised from seeds collected by Mr Bunce in the second expedition of the unfortunate Dr Leichhardt; it is a most extraordinary genus of Malvaceae, it differs from Pavonia and the thousand other know species of the order in a closed calyx! which bursts only when the fruit becomes perfectly ripe. The little corolla never expands and sees consequently no daylight until long after fecundation! The other is a herbaceous Sesbania allied to S. picta, which as the species mentioned by Sir Thomas Mitchell remained undescribed I will call Sesbania Australis; Mitchells plant however must be distinct, for mine is not allied to S. aculeata.¹² I have been also fortunate enough to discover a third new genus of Malvaceae on Lake King. I was first reluctant in removing it from Lagunaea,¹³ but the undivided style with a trilobed club-shaped stigma, the 3 locular capsule which incloses a slight quantity of free short hair, the habit of the plant[,] and what may seem extraordinar the suppression of stipuls induced me to seperate it as Howittia trilocularis Lindley unites Bombaceae & Sterculiaceae, still the former have one-celled anthers, as far as I see in your Plagianthus sidoides. He gives as a general character 2-celled anthers; is that correct?

I have bought a set of Mr Wilhelmi's¹⁴ plant, collected this year in the Port Lincoln district. It contains but little news.¹⁵ The descriptions of the new sp. I have worked out and transmit them to you. They may be published separate as they comprise south Australian plants. The new genus Pleuropappus¹⁶ is most singular and the occurence of Verticordia so far east is also interesting. I shall send the set to you by the next mail vessel, together with some alpine plants. — I hope to be this year more fortunate with my new genera than last. I observed by a careful examination that Psoraleopsis is identical with Lespedezia juncea¹⁷ Pers.

I also beg to inclose a list a plants which I am desirous to introduce into the colony. Could your rich establishment supply some of them, I would be delighted.¹⁸

An additional genus of Laurineae occurs also in my new collection for the Flora of Australia. Its calyx is 4-parted, but the plant was unfortunately so little developed, that it will be difficult to determine it. It is a noble tree about 40' high.

By the next opportunity I intend to send through a friend, who is going home Azolla rubra in a living state and also all the Fungi, which I possess, for Dr Harvey tells me that Mr Berkeley probably will easily determine and describe them.

My next report may possibly give the names of 400 additional species for the flora of this colony, more than 200 being algae either from Dr Harveys or my own collections. Some of Dr Harveys novelties are magnificent.¹⁹

I am up to this time not yet actually reestablished in my office, altho[']²⁰ a sum has been voted again for my department, but I expect daily a communication in this behalf.²¹ Under the present financial pressure of the Government I believe it will be difficult to obtain subsidia from our Government for printing manuscripts at home.²² If a²³ few of the most remarka[ble]²⁴ things could be published in the periodicals, it would be extremely gratifing

Excuse, Sir William, the haste of this writing,

and believe me to be your most devoted servant

Ferd Mueller.

Azolla rubra

Bombaceae

Boronia algida

Caltha Novae Zeelandiae

Dichopetalum ranunculaceum

Paederota densifolia

Diplaspis Hydrocotyle

Drapetes Tasmanica

Drosera Arcturi

Euphrasia alsa

Greevesia cleisocalyx

Herpetolirion Tasmaniae

Howittia trilocularis

Lagunaea

Laurineae

Lespedezia juncea

Malvaceae

Orites lancifolia

Orites Milligani

Pavonia

Phebalium ovatifolium

Plagianthus sidoides

Pleuropappus

Proteaceae

Psoraleopsis

Ranunculus anemoneus

Ranunculus Millani

Sesbania aculeata

Sesbania Australis

Sesbania picta

Sterculiaceae

Verticordia