To George Bentham   24 December 1861

Melbourne bot. & zool. Garden,

24 Dec. 1861

My dear and venerable Sir

Your kind letter, dated 15 Oct, has been to me the source of very great gratification and I feel thankful and proud for your having generously acceded to my proposition and alloted to me a share in the work on Australian plants. My own position in the great undertaking I beg you will admit as a very subordinate one, and it appears to me that you have in the proposed title given more to me as is due. If you will kindly allow me to suggest some slight alterations it would be: to substitute the classically correct and more geographically appropriate & perhaps more euphonious name Flora Australiana; to say Australian territory instead of colonies instead of colonies,¹ as much of the north, from whence we have rich collections, will not be colonized for a good while. Further perhaps you would say with assistance of notes (only) as many of my descriptions are already published in some work or the other. I have further to bring under your notice, that I have been succeeded in the presidency of the Royal Society of Victoria by His Excellency Sir Henry Barkly & that whilst elected Vice president of the Acclimation Society I have ceased to be Director of the zoolog. Garden, a new & more extensive area having been found for this zoolog. establishment in an other part of our environs. Being thus relieved of a very onerous part of my duties I shall have much more leisure for my literary work. As soon as the estimates are passed, I shall not fail to remit the £100 - - for the first volume of the work. Immediately after the arrival of your letter I packed up 27 fascicles of Thalamiflorae, comprising the apocarpous & rhoead[e]ous sections, the examination of which will probably occupy one month, as it will be a difficult task even to so highly experienced & acute sighted phytologist as yourself, to limit the species so as to arrive at cardinal characters, which will stand the test in the Australian field. I found it very tedious work to arrive at the limitations adopted in "the plants indig. to Victoria".² Notes I have not furnished this time, as I am anxious to send yet this week the herbarium off; moreover there is little to add to what I published in the plants of Victoria & in the fragmenta regarding the apocarpeae & rhoeadeae. Of the second vol. of the fragmenta the index is sent to Sir Will Hooker by this mail. If you would favor me with the proofsheets of the flora as they come out, I will gladly add then notes, which would arrive in time for supplementary pages of

the volume. This time I send only a new definition of the genus Wilkiea, also description of the rare Lepidium strongylophyllum.³ In the later fascicles such as Sapindaceae, I shall be called on to give more notes. The habitats will very well be elicited from the herbarium & the work on Victorian plants. But in the instances, when neither of the two furnish them, I shall specially enumerate the ranges of distribution.

In sorting the specimina I have placed the plants together as near as I consider them related without always entering into their careful analysis. It will be for you to decide whether for instance Hibb. virgata, fasciculata & angustifolia (altho these I did analyze)⁴ should form species or varieties. The Candolleas require a careful sifting, analyzing & rearranging. The genus is quite untenable! I hope it will finally fall to our share to erect a permanent botanical genus as a monument of the great Candolle, and that the grandeur of the plant will be commensurate with the greatness of such a man. — you state that no additions have been received to Cochlospermum. C. heteronemum will probably be C. Frazeri of Planchon, but the C. Gregorii is widely distinct & not the same as C. Gossypium. You find it described in the fragmenta⁵ Of Menispermeae we have 6 Australian species.

You may probably find it useful to consult my manuscripts lodged at Kew, altho' some portions become emendated by later investigations & some has become obsolete. But what I would most imploringly solicit from you, is not to admit any synonyms except such as by the publication of diagnoses cannot be excluded. Altho' a preliminary name may have appeared in print in my reports, letters &c yet such a name has no claim to be promulgated, as in most instances it had been corrected by my own later investigations.⁶ I should for instance be sorry to see Cocculus Hookeri⁷ appear as synonym in the new work. When writing to Sir William Hooker on that plant, I saw only fruit, but no sooner got I afterwards flowers, I had of course no difficulty in referring it to Stephania. Well did our noble friend Harvey express himself on this subject, when referring to the host of names for Pelargonia he says: "names ignoble born to be forgot"! —

That Lagunaria Pattersoni[i]⁸ is now added to the truely Australian flora, & which as a Norfolk island plant it could not be counted, will interest you, as it adds a genus of great beauty and sharp distinction.

I think I could aid a little in your genera plantarum,⁹ if I had the proof-sheets.

You may expect every month a similar consigment than that now announced; But I do not think you will be able to place more than Thalamiflorae into the first volume. I can assure you, that I look forward with the greatest pleasure to the long regular & continued Correspondence, which will be caused by my being called to the honorable position of aiding you; and I hope, that you will unhesitatingly instruct me on all occasions, how I can best serve your purpose. If any particular order, requiring much fieldstudy is desired by you to be worked up by myself & you will point out, which, it will be gladly undertaken. — Under all circumstances I will endeavour to remain with fragmenta & plants of Victoria ahead, thus to facilitate your work.

With sentiments of the highest regard,

dear Sir,

yours

Ferd Mueller

Geo. Bentham Esq

President of the Linnéan

Society

First consignment of herbaria to Sir Will. Hooker for Mr Bentham's perusal, to be forwarded probably this week pr "Young Australian", otherwise by the next Clipper. Bill of loading will be sent as well with the ship taking the consignment, as also by the next mail. The box is lined with metal inside and the custom seal impressed on it.

Ranunculaceae:
Clematis, fascicles	2
Ranunculus	2
Anemone, Caltha, Myosur 10 [&c]	1
Cabombeae	1
Magnoliaceae	1
Anonaceae	1
Monimieae	2
Dilleniaceae, Hemistemma, Huttia &c	1
Hibbertia (Cyclandra)	4
Hibbertia (Pleurandra)	4
Menispermeae	1
Papaveraceae	1
Capparideae 11	3
Cruciferae	3
Total Fasc.	27

Ferd. Mueller.

24/12/61¹²

Anemone

Anonaceae

Apocarpeae

Cabombeae

Caltha

Candollea

Capparideae

Clematis

Cocculus Hookeri

Cochlospermum Frazeri

Cochlospermum Gossypium

Cochlospermum Gregorii

Cochlospermum heteronemum

Cruciferae

Dilleniaceae

Hemistemma

Hibbertia

Hibbertia

Hibbertia angustifolia

Hibbertia fasciculata

Hibbertia virgata

Huttia

Lagunaria Pattersonii

Lepidium strangylophyllum

Magnoliaceae

Menispermaceae

Menispermeae

Monimieae

Myosurus

Papaveraceae

Pelargonium

Ranunculaceae

Ranunculus

Rhoeadeae

Sapindaceae

Stephania

Wilkiea