From George Bentham¹    18 May 1863

London

25 WILTON PLACE,

S.W.

May 18/63

My dear Sir

Enclosed is the bill of lading of the four cases sent pr Prince of Wales. I hope to hear of their reaching you in safety

By this mail I send you the remainder of the first vol. of my Flora Australiensis² I will put up the 30 copies your Government is entitled to in the next box I send you.

I am now at Papilionaceae I have done Jansonia a good genus with 1 species, Brachysema with 13 species including Leptosema Kaleniczenkea³ and Burgesia, Oxylobium with 26 species including Callistachys and Podolobium. Gastrolobium with 29 species Chorizema with 13 species including Orthotropis and Mirbelia with 15 species including Dichosema and Isotropis with 5 species.⁴ In all I have been obliged to reduce many species I had previously published — Oxylobium arborescens and your O. alpestre (which I do not quote as not being published)⁵ go into O. ellipticum. I include Callistachys lanceolata and ovata in one species O. callistachys[.]⁶ Isotropis biloba is a var of I. striata Oxylobium obovatum & O. delalatum⁷ go into O. cuneatum Chorizema Baueri is Mirbelia pungens Dichosema spinosum Bth & D. subinerne Meisn. = Mirbelia spinosa D. multicaulis ⁸ Turcz = M. multicaulis D. microphyllum Turcz. = M. microphylla, Chorizema daviesioides Meisn. or Daviesia ramulosa Bth = Mirbelia daviesioides besides many other reductions but still the collections especially of Drummond from W Australia supply an immense number of very distinct forms. I am anxiously expecting yours as I have no doubt they with Browns which I have not yet examine will make still further additions. I am now at Gompholobium & Burtonia two genera most intimately connected but still as far as I have gone must be technically separated, like Oxylobium and Gastrolobium by the number of ovules Where there is a tenable distinction either in habit or character we must I think keep up large genera universally adopted — otherwise no-one would follow us, and our changes only overload synonymy. In this view Gompholobium foliolosum, subulatum (your stenophyllum) and polyzygum must go into Burtonia. On the other hand I think that some Burtonias must be excluded but I have not yet finished them.

You asked me whether I could send you a copy of the Papilionaceae of Martius's Flora Brasiliensis which I should have most gladly done if I had one that I could spare — but I had only one copy for myself which I am obliged to keep for reference — and it is a very expensive work to buy. I think the whole Flora Brasiliensis is one that the Melbourne Library ought to procure.

The Australian mail came in yesterday but no letters delivered from you I therefore now close this to save the Southampton mail this being overweight for Marseilles

Yours very sincerely

George Bentham

Dr F. Mueller

I think Leguminosae (including Acacia) will make under 1000 sp. — My 2d vol will hold at least 1200 — perhaps more. I can therefore take in Rosaceae Saxifrageae Lythraceae & allied families leaving Myrtaceae for the 3d. I shall be glad to have your specimens as soon as convenient in order to print next spring

May 19

Brachysema

Burgesia

Burtonia

Callistachys lanceolata

Callistachys ovata

Chorizema Baueri

Chorizema daviesioides

Daviesia ramulosa

Dichosema

Dichosema microphyllum

Dichosema multicaulis

Dichosema spinosum

Dichosema subinerme

Gastrolobium

Gompholobium foliolosum

Gompholobium polyzygum

Gompholobium stenophyllum

Gompholobium subulatum

Isotropis biloba

Isotropis striata

Jansonia

Kaleniczenkea

Leguminosae

Leptosema

Lythraceae

Mirbelia daviesioides

Mirbelia microphylla

Mirbelia multicaulis

Mirbelia pungens

Mirbelia spinosa

Myrtaceae

Orthotropis

Oxylobium alpestre

Oxylobium arborescens

Oxylobium callistachys

Oxylobium cuneatum

Oxylobium delatatum

Oxylobium ellipticum

Oxylobium obovatum

Papilionaceae

Podolobium

Rosaceae

Saxifrageae