To George Bentham   12 December 1863

Melbourne bot Garden

12/12/63

Dear Mr Bentham.

By the Sussex I have forwarded to you 2 Cases, containing 52 fascicles of Eucalypti; the whole of my collection of that genus. I have inserted all the novitiae and thus I think you will be able to use with facility this huge collection. No doubt you will perceive how variable many of the characters are, on which former definitions of the species of this genus were based. From some remarks in the preface of the Austral Flora you seem inclined to attribute to hybridism many of the forms, which obliterate so frequently the demarcations between formerly adopted species.¹ In my reductions of species I have not been unmindful to the possibility of such blendings occurring, but where I reduced I do not think I was misled by hybrid productions. May this be as it may, I do think, that in Eucalyptus not likely hybrids arise, as impregnation takes place before the lapse of the operculum, and the latter is never bored by insects or birds. I believe that not more than about one hundred true species of Eucalypts exist in Australia, altho' we shall be obliged to keep up occasionally spurious species, until their legitimate place can be satisfactorily ascertained. After all it is the most difficult genus to elaborate for the descriptive work you have in hand; - and yet how vastly important is the study to us of these trees in a practical point of view. Had I been so fortunate to possess earlier the herbarium of the late Dr Steetz, which I purchased,² it would have rendered my work amongst the Myrtaceae in general easier & safer and indeed so in all the investigations of West Austral plants, because the collection of my late friend contains a very rich set of Preissian plants. I received this treasure only last week and was doubtful, whether I should send the Preissian Leguminosae & Myrtaceae at once also. I have retained them however for the present; for if you consult Sonders set, it will be an unnecessary risk to send Steetzs set also; if you however desire them they shall be forwarded to you also. As however the whole of the Steetzian herbarium will be incorporated, you will receive in future the Preissian & Sieberian³ specimens along with the rest. The Steetzian Collection advances my herbarium considerably in species & particularly in specimina As Steetz collected for more than 30 years he accumulated a good many valuable plants, to which he seems to have added many of Professor Lehmann's relics. The herbarium is extremely rich in Ecklun ⁴ & Zeyhers plants, also in Moritzi's South American collections, Vahls arctic plants, Turczaninows Russian, Rochels plants of the Banat,⁵ and many other important collections. Shorts North American &c. In all it contains 418 packages, so that my herbarium approaches now to 2000 fascicles. Should at any period readily some duplicates be available at Kew, I would be grateful to receive a share, as I am truly anxious to make my museum for all times valuable for references to the plants of any part of the Globe. Through Dr Hookers benignity I possess a good deal from India, but I am not well provided, at least not rich in plants from tropical America[,] and have hardly any from tropical Africa. My herbarium comprises now I think about 40000 species, i.e. in the conservative view I entertain of species, otherwise more than 50,000. In the boxes sent pr Sussex I have enclosed 10 sets⁶ of the Transact of the Royal Society of Victoria for Messrs Williams & Norgate for Sale, and returned 13 copies of Harveys phycologia⁷ to Lovell Reeve. From the latter Gentleman I have within the last days through M Balliere received the 30 copies of the Austral. flora & handed them over to Government,⁸ who will distribute them, and tender you for them their thanks. — I learnt some time since, that Dr Booth⁹ was very unwell. I trust this illness was transitory, but if he is not likely to work again on Carex, which he elucidated so masterly,¹⁰ perhaps you will kindly arrange, that the portion of my herbarium, comprising this genus & Uncinia, may be returned, as I have sometimes occasion to refer to them.¹¹

In looking over my herbarium the other day for consulting Mollugineae I missed the Australian fascicle & also Sclerantheae. Perhaps you retained it with Droseraceae; or perhaps I mislaid it. If you intend to transfer the Mollugineae not to the vicinity of Paronychieae & Crassulaceae but to Monochlamydeae, perhaps you may not want the plants for years & I could return them a second time. Would it not be best to follow Wight &c to reduce Syzigium to Eugenia? Jambosa is certainly no genus nor Acmena. Callistemon I have kept up but it flows entirely together through C. lanceolatus & M Leucadendron with Melaleuca.¹² I have yet to send you two boxes with Myrtaceae, which will be sent within the next week & then you will have all the plants of this important order. The whole comprises about 110 fascicles. — Case N. 19 pr Rusult ¹³ (which ship left on the 21. Nov) contained mainly Myrtaceae. Case No. 18 pr. Norfolk the small orders required for finishing the second volume Will you be so kind to let me know at your earliest decision, what orders you desire in succession between Myrtaceae & Compositae. Did cases 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, & 17 arrive? The latter was shipped pr Monarch on the 7. Sept. —

I would certainly advise you to include the Euphorbiaceae in the 3. vol. Many genera of that order are clearly petaliferous and even if out of the whole host one single genus only produced petals, it would in my opinion prevent it being arranged with the Monochlamydeae. The wisest plan would be to distribute all Monochlamydeae over the other divisions of Dicotyledoneae, except the [Ju]liferae & Coniferae & Cycadeae. All other orders of Monochlamydeae have certain affinities to other dicotyledonous orders.¹⁴

17/12/63

Since writing these lines I received your letter, dated Oct. 12. — I am not clearly understanding, which of my consignments arrived, except the Case No. 11. As these cases are currently numbered perhaps you would be so friendly to let me know what number of cases are now in your possession. I have here a small entrybook for the purpose¹⁵ & should think a similar book would prove useful in Kew to supervise the arrival & despatch of cases, as in the course of time more than 100 cases have to be sent. The two fascicles of Carex & Uncinia were sent to be submitted to Dr Booth¹⁶ for his examination. I mentioned this at the time to Sir William Hooker.¹⁷ Since I have learnt, that Dr Booth is so ill as not likely to resume his important labours for some time. Should his convalescence become unfortunately long protracted perhaps it would be best to return the fascicles in the next box so that not for too long a time a chasm remains in that part of my collection, as they may occasionally be required for comparison.¹⁸

In regard to the Polygalaceae &c, which got mildewed, I feel sure they were packed moist or damp, as it were the inner packages of the case which suffered. If they are kept perfectly dry and are in dry weather at once hermetically sealed up, nothing possibly can happen to them, if the tin smith does his work well. The parcels must have laid on the moist floor of some place, perhaps the tin smiths shop. I should not mind the damage so much, if the collection here was not a public one, for the safety of which I am responsible to the Government and Colonists. The rest of the Myrtaceae will be sent to you by the Essex & next Clipper. I looked over Angophora to day. A. lanceoloata differs from A. intermedia in smooth laminar bark which [s]ecedes, also in larger flowers & fruits & some other less striking points not absolutely in the want of hispidity of the inflorescence, which occasionally also is quite smooth in A. intermedia. The latter sp. has a rough persistent bark and the difference between these two when seen in New South Wales became to me very apparent. Perhaps however A. subvelutina is only a variety of A. intermedia, a species not quite known to me in all its form when I described my new one.

I have carefully weighed all you say about the arrangement of the Rutaceae, but must confess that you have not convinced me of the incorrectness of my view. However as genera are not like species created in nature the limits of the former will ever remain disputable.¹⁹

I am interested in your remarks about the relation of certain Bossiaeae to Templetonia. I had never occasion to analyse the latter genus carefully and in its habit it is so unlike what you now added to it, that I did not suspect the affinity.

When recently examining again Nematophyllum it appeared to me distinct as a genus, and its compound leaves render it further remarkable. In one of my last numbers of the fragmenta you will observe, that I reduced Lalage ornata to Bossiaea as B. ornata. I added an allied species, which may only be a variety namely Bossiaea lalagoides.²⁰

That the plants pr Prince of Wales reached me in safety I mentioned before.²¹

If Leguminosae & the small orders amount to 1000 species, I should think that ought to be quite sufficient for vol II, as there

are considerable supplements. If you prefer to retain the supplements for the end of the whole work I would advise not to adopt the small orders for vol II, but to take in all the Myrtaceae. Then two large orders would be kept together in one volume, a fact that is so readily born in mind, and the third volume would take the rest of the Calyciflorae. To distribute the Myrtaceae over two volumes would be a very great pity.²²

Compositae will fill at least half a volume, as the genera are so numerous.²³ If Euphorbiaceae are brought into Calyciflorae, which seems to me certainly their most appropriate position, then perhaps it will require a fourth volume for the monopetalous Calyciflorae, including Stylideae & Goodeniaceae, orders now rich, as I have added fully [40] well marked species to the latter order myself²⁴

You will be aware that I reduce Fabricia to Leptospermum. The capsule varies with from 5 to 9²⁵ cells; and the winged seeds are not of generic character in other xerocarpic Myrtaceous genera. I shall at last have Turczaninows paper on Myrtaceae xerocarpicae²⁶ and fear I have unconscious of the existence of the essay redescribed some Western ones.

The Bossiaeas are very variable. I adscribe the differences of the alpine form of B. Scolopendria entirely to the situation of the plant. I asked for specimens of Eremosyne recently;²⁷ but I have now some in Preiss collection.

You mentioned some time since that Cunningham's collection contained 200 fascicles. Does that include the New Zealand species? I received recently the first specimens of Lamarchea hakeifolia Gaudich from Shark Bay. The genus must be upheld, as it differs from Calothamnus in versatile anthers and monadelphous stamens. The seeds are wingless.

Melaleuca Leucadendron attains some times a hight of more than 100' & a diameter of stem of 5'!²⁸

Trusting that you will also in future with a generous spirit deal with my observations & writings I remain your obedient

Ferd Mueller

Should you not adopt supplements now, pray let me then meanwhile have back the supplemental fascicles.²⁹

24/12/63.

Since writing the above pages we have had to sustain a tremendous flood, which caused enormous devastations in the lower part of the Garden, alone more than £1000 value of fences are swept away.³⁰ This calamity has disarranged my plans for the moment and hence it will be probably only in the beginning of January before I send off the rest of the Leguminosae. This will give me some leisure hours for weighing carefully the character of the genus Baeckea, to which many of Schauers genera must be returned.³¹

I have some more pages of Myrtaceae under the press, but they will not appear before the departure of this mail.

The reductions in the sp of Leptospermum is to be enormous, if we want to give to the species well settled limits. The glabrous or hairy fruits are no characters. Dr Hookers synonymy of the genus is not quite correct.³² Would it not be best to substitute for Leptosp. flavescens the name of L. polygalifolium, in as much as the trivial name misleads, the petals being in no way whatever flavescent except like in other species when badly dried. They are quite white when fresh. I see no tangible differences between L. scoparium & L. juniperinum, nor between L. lanigerum & L. grandifolium, nor between L. flavescens & L. grandiflor[um] &c &c &c

Could Gleichenia dicarpa not be naturalized in English moors? It sustains the ice of our alps where I have seen it 6000' high.

I shall review, if I find time, Kunzea to ascertain its exact difference from Leptospermum, as Schauer did not know some of the transient forms.³³

Case No. 21 ³⁴

pr Sussex

12/12/63

Eucalyptus —	fasc.
E. goniocalyx	1
E. Woollsii	1
E. Stellulata &c	1
E. Globulus	1
E. terminalis & affin.	1
E. obliqua	1
E. W. Austr partim	2
E. tereticornis	1
E. rostrata	1
E. Leucoxylon	1
E. dumosa E. A.	1
E. dumosa W. A	2
E. macul, vernicifl, coccif 35	1
E. populif, polyanth, p[ulver]. &c 36	1
E. alpina & E. Preissii	1
E. [cor]iacea & elaeophora	1
E. corymbosa	1
E. Gunnii	1
E. viminalis	1
E. Leichh. Collect.	4
Calyciflor suppl.	1
Myrtaceae suppl	1
	27

Case No. 20

pr Sussex.

12/12/63

Eucalyptus —	fasc
E. Cornuta & affinis	3
E. fructi[l]. maxim. W.A.	1
E. acervula	1
E. persicifolia & affin	3
E. botryoides & affin	2
E. gracilis	1
E. haemastoma	1
E. fruticetorum	1
E. amygdalina	1
E. foliis discolor W.A. 37	1
E. odorata	1
E. tetraptera & erythroca. 38	1
E. tropic. angustifol 39	1
E. W. Austr suppl. —	2
E. E Austr suppl. —	1
E. latifoliae tropic —	1
E. uncinata	1
E. Eudesmia 40	1
E. urnig. 41 & coryno[cor] 42	1
E. obliqua & affin.	1
E. microthec 43 & affin	1
Total —	27

In the same box a set of Siebers Eucalypti, which are to be returned to Dr Sonder and 10 sets of the transact of the R. S of Victoria for Messers Williams & Norgate⁴⁴

In this box are also 5 parcels with books for Mr Lovell Reeve.

Ferd. Mueller⁴⁵

Plant names

Acmena

Angophora intermedia

Angophora lanceoloata

Angophora subvelutina

Baeckea

Bossiaea lalagoides

Bossiaea Scolopendria

Bossiaea ornata

Callistemon lanceolatus

Calothamnus

Calycifloreae

Carex

Compositae

Coniferae

Crassulaceae

Cycadiae

Dicotyledoneae

Droseraceae

Eremosyne

Eucalyptus acervula

Eucalyptus affinis

Eucalyptus alpina

Eucalyptus amygdalina

Eucalyptus angustifolia

Eucalyptus botryoides

Eucalyptus coccifera

Eucalyptus coriacea

Eucalyptus Cornuta

Eucalyptus corymbosa

Eucalyptus corynocalyx

Eucalyptus discolor

Eucalyptus dumosa

Eucalyptus elaeophora

Eucalyptus erythrocalyx

Eucalyptus Eudesmia

Eucalyptus fruticetorum

Eucalyptus Globulus

Eucalyptus goniocalyx

Eucalyptus gracilis

Eucalyptus Gunnii

Eucalyptus haemastoma

Eucalyptus latifolia

Eucalyptus Leucoxylon

Eucalyptus maculata

Eucalyptus microtheca

Eucalyptus obliqua

Eucalyptus odorata

Eucalyptus persicifolia

Eucalyptus polyanthemos

Eucalyptus populifolia

Eucalyptus Preissii

Eucalyptus pulverulenta

Eucalyptus rostrata

Eucalyptus Stellulata

Eucalyptus tereticornis

Eucalyptus terminalis

Eucalyptus tetraptera

Eucalyptus uncinata

Eucalyptus urnigera

Eucalyptus vernicosa [fn provided]

Eucalyptus viminalis

Eucalyptus Woollsii

Eugenia

Euphorbiaceae

Fabricia

Gleichenia dicarpa

Goodeniaceae

Jambosa

Kunzea

Lalage ornata

Lamarchea hakeifolia

Leguminosae

Leptospermum flavescens

Leptospermum grandifolium

Leptospermum juniperinum

Leptospermum lanigerum

Leptospermum polygalifolium

Leptospermum scoparium

Melaleuca Leucadendron

Mollugineae

Monochlamydeae

Myrtaceae

Nematophyllum

Paronychieae

Polygalaceae

Rutaceae

Sclerantheae

Stylideae

Syzigium

Templetonia

Uncinia