To George Bentham   24 February 1865

Melbourne bot Garden

24/2/65.

 

The enclosed plant, dear Mr Bentham, is to bear Mr Edw. Wilson's name. Whether it is a true Eugenia or possibly a Barringtonia or of an other genus I have at this moment, when the mail time is nearly passed, no leisure to ascertain, but I shall with several other novelties (some likewise myrtaceous) include it in the first fascicle of the 5. vol. of the Fragmenta.1 Mr Edw Wilson has done so much for Australia that I have long since been anxious to bestow his name on a plant, and thereby to erect for him a monument less perishable than any of marble or bronze. The other Myrtaceae shall be sent to you by next mail.

The 30 copies of the vol. II2 have been received, and I have to tender you for the transmission my thanks.

As yet I have been unable to obtain the Nepenthes from the N.E. coast, seen by Carron, but I think it might be mentioned in vol. III.3 If Euphorbiaceae, as I believe I said before, were included & Laurineae and other highly developed orders most wrongly placed amongst Monochlamydeae, introduced into the 3. volume there would be no need for taking the Compositae up for vol. III; indeed they would, if justice is to be done to them, fill a volume by themselfes nearly & all coralliflorae would then occupy the fifth volume. This could all be easily arranged if the descriptive portion of each plant was a little more extended; for really in some instances cardinal characters have been overlooked. — Through the despatch bag goes to Sir Will. Hooker this month4 the new vol of illustrations of Victorian plants,5 (a useful addition to your work for students) also vol IV Fragm. complete — You omitted in vol II Acacia adstringens as a published synonym.6

Your notes on Chamaelaucieae are interesting. Still I do not think that Eremopyxis can be upheld, there being too many intermediate forms between it and Thryptomene.7 The derivation of the latter word I explained on a former occasion.8

The Ladies of England might surely do something to aid the noble efforts of the Ladies of Victoria on Leichhardts behalf.9 The Ladies Committee will be organized & constituted next week.

With the greatest obedience

yr

Ferd Mueller

 

Will the appearance of my illustrations of Vict plants secure for them a quotation in your genera; personally I claim not such favor, but I do so for the credit of my office & Government.10

The Umbelliferae, Rubiaceae, Loranthaceae, Caprifoliaceae &c have been despatched to you a few weeks since.

 

Acacia adstringens

Barringtonia

Caprifoliaceae

Chamaelaucieae

Compositae

Eremopyxis

Eugenia

Euphorbiaceae

Laurineae

Loranthaceae

Monochlamydeae

Myrtaceae

Nepenthes

Rubiaceae

Thryptomene

Umbelliferae

1
M described Eugenia wilsoniiin B65.04.01, p. 12.
2
Of Bentham (1863-78).
3
See Carron (1849), pp 48, 117; B66.02.01, p. 154 which describes a specimen supplied by J. Jardine and mentions Kennedy's expedition of 1848 on which Carron was botanist; and Bentham (1883-78), vol. 6, p. 40.
4
The sentence Through the … Fragm. complete is marked in the margin with a line in the margin , and the lines beginning Through andmonth are each marked with a cross.
5
B65.13.04.
6
It is not clear what species M believed was a synonym of A. adstingens : none of the synonyms suggested by The Plant List ( http://www.theplantlist.org, accessed 30 May 2014) for the species described by Martius, or that described by Julius Schumann and Peter Thonning, appear in Bentham (1863-78), vol. 2. Bentham believed M meant A. astringens , which was listed (p. 362) as a synonym of A. penninervis ; see G. Bentham to M, 25 April 1865 (in this edition as 65-04-25a) .
7
The 'notes' have not been identified; they were probably included in the December 1864 letter from Bentham that has not been found (see G. Bentham to M, 26 February 1865). Bentham (1863-78), vol. 3, p. 57 treated Eremopyxis as a synonym of Thryptomene.
8
M to G. Bentham, 25 January 1864.
9
i.e. to sponsor the Ladies’ Leichhardt Search Expedition.
10
The beginning of this paragraph is marked with a cross.

Please cite as “FVM-65-02-24,” 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 27 April 2024, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/vonmueller/letters/65-02-24