Melbourne, 70. Collin Street East
20. May 1855.
My dear Sir
It was a great pleasure to me to receive last night your kind letter, dated the 12th May.1 — I have to thank you most heartily for the trouble you have taken, notwithstanding your manyfold occupations, to comply so speedily and kindful with my wishes.2
For the spicilegium3 I am also very much obliged, for altho' in Walpers rep. & annales4 these diagnoses are reprinted, still such a fascicle as you obligingly sent is so useful on journeys to refer to. I beg to send in return by this mail the first fascicle of the Melb. phil. transact.,5 which you possibly might not have got and shall feel much pleasure to forward the others also, which now at length are passing through the press.
By a somewhat close examination of my Umbelliferae from the alps I observed, that I confused O. Colensoi with O. sessiliflora. Of the latter I have not yet got a diagnosis, but am happy to learn, that Mr Archer6 will be so kind to let me have his Fl. N.Z.,7 by which I shall get acquainted with this plant. But I must confess, that I have been at a loss of finding trustworth characters in the established species. My herbarium is rich in intermediate forms. The description which you furnished of Pozoopsis is of the highest importance to me, for it proves to me, that my new genus of Umbelliferae from Mount Coskiusko8 is totally distinct from it, belonging to Hydrocotyleae. We have nothing here of Mulineae but Diplaspis.
Although I am daily expecting from my bookseller the Icones of Hooker, Endl. gen9 and several other works, I should be yet extremly obliged to you, if you would prevail on Dr Milligan to show me the very great favor of letting me have his Endlichers genera, of which he according to Prof. Harvey possesses 2 copies. Could I also get the supplements10 I shall be delighted. Dr Milligan might then send the book to one of his friends here, to whom I will pay the amount for it at delivery, or I will send the price, if he adresses it to me, at once by the next mail.
I am much indebted to you for your kind promise of lending me some of your books. — Accepting this kind offer, I would be delighted to have a look on flora antarctica, the phanerogamic part.11 — I ordered this work more than two years ago for our public library and it is not yet arrived. Is it not disheartening? I expect this work also daily, but still if it not causes to much inconvenience to you please, my dear Sir, let me have it for a very few weeks.
Finally I must trouble you with an enquire of Orites Milligani; knowing this species only by name I beg to enclose a fragment of the species from Mount Hotham,12 which, if not identical with Mr Dr. Milligan's plant will be new (O. planifolia msc.)13
It gives me much pleasure to send you also this time my second annual report.14 The first15 you will have received. As soon as the third16 is out, it will be also forwarded to you. Are you particularly fond of certain families of plants, please let me know which they are and I will make a parcel up for you.
Believe me, my dear Mr Gunn
to be your most devoted servant
Ferd. Mueller
Ron. Gunn Esq.
Diplaspis
Hydrocotyleae
Mulineae
Oreomyrrhis Colensoi
Oreomyrrhis sessiliflora
Orites Milligani
Orites planifolia
Pozoopsis
Umbelliferae
Please cite as “FVM-55-05-20,” in Correspondence of Ferdinand von Mueller, edited by R.W. Home, Thomas A. Darragh, A.M. Lucas, Sara Maroske, D.M. Sinkora†, J.H. Voigt† and Monika Wells accessed on 20 April 2024, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/vonmueller/letters/55-05-20