From Joseph Hooker   8 December 1861

Kew Dec 8th/61.

Dr Dr Mueller

I have little to say but that we are all well & busy. Thanks for your last with the accompanying enclosure.1 What a kind fellow Harvey is. I am sure you have acted both liberally & wisely. — Bentham has already begun with the Dilleniaceae. having to revise that order for Gen. Plant.2 he took the opportunity of doing the Australian species — he found a good many in Brit: Mus. that were unknown elsewhere. Sonder is sending over all Plant Preiss3 but they have not arrived yet. I very much hope that you will get on with Victoria Flora;4 it is a capital work, & will cost you more labor than you perhaps anticipate to complete it.

We have just gone to press with the 1st part of Genera Plantarum but it will be 4 months before it is out. The Sapind.5 Terebinth6 & all these orders have cost us immense labor. as it is we have been 3 years at DC vol I!7 We hope however to get on faster after this & this work will facilitate local Floras very much indeed.

Welwitch has sent the Tumboa to be described by me in Linn. Trans. as Welwitschia,8 it is certainly the most marvellous plant discovered since Botany was systematized — more curious certainly though less striking in some points than Rafflesia — it is certainly Gnetaceae.

Baines has sent us a sketch of the same thing from Dammara land9 together with very imperfect specimens.

We continue to receive very remarkable collections from our West African collector Mann,10 who is now at St Thomas11 & going to Cameroons mountains.

Ever most ty yrs

Jos D Hooker

 

Dilleniaceae

Gnetaceae

Rafflesia

Sapindaceae

Terebinthaceae

Welwitschia

M to J. Hooker, 24 September 1861.
Bentham & Hooker (1867-83).
Plants collected by Ludwig Preiss in WA, 1838–42 .
B62.02.01.
Sapindaceae.
Terebinthaceae, a Jussieu group that Bentham and Hooker distributed between a number of different orders.
A. P. de Candolle (1823-73). Vol 1 of this work includes orders from I Ranunculaceae to LIV Coriarieae, while the first volume of Genera plantarum covers orders up to LVI Connaraceae.
J. Hooker (1863).
Damaraland in southern Africa, part of modern Namibia.
Gustav Mann.
São Tomé.

Please cite as “FVM-61-12-08,” 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 29 March 2024, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/vonmueller/letters/61-12-08