To William Hooker1    18 April 1865

18/4/65

Venerable and dear Sir William.

I have enclosed in my communication to you some fragments of interesting plants from Rockingham-Bay, 2 some of which will probably be in time for Mr Bentham to consult for his 3. vol. of the Australian flora. The occurence of Beaufortia, Dicrastylis, Verticordia grandis, and many other extratropical western plants in N. W. Australia is proved by Dr Martin. 3 I have sent you also the few ferns collected by that Gentleman during his last expedition. The most interesting plants are however from N. E. Australia, especially from Rockingham's Bay, and from the enclosures & from the 31 Number of my fragmenta 4 you will perceive, that Tetracera, Hugonia, Ligustrum, Coelospermum, Drymisperma 5 & some other genera are now known to be represented in Australia. The most important plants are the new genera Brombya, Gillbeea (a doubtful Cunoniacea), Macintyria, Irvingia, Faradaya (a doubtful Bignoniacea) Cardwellia (a good genus of Proteaceae, though the seeds are not known[)]. 6 Most striking is the new Pithecolobium with 5-15! pistils. 7 Perhaps it should form a separate genus, but the fruit is unknown. I should be thankful to be allowed to work out the Rockingham Bay plants myself. It is possible you will receive some from Mr Hill, but it would be a pity if while I am engaged on their elucidation they should also be described in Britain. 8

On the extraordinar 9 dimensions of Eucalyptus diversicolor (or as it better be called now E. colossea) I have offered some notes in the lately printed pages. 10 I am looking forward with great interest to Mr Bentham's delimitation of the Eucalypti. So many of the old imperfectly described species it being so difficult to recognize

By the Wellesley I received in fair condition the two boxes with returned collections, ferns & Calyciflorae, for which remission I express my best thanks.

 

19/4/65.

 

Telegrams just arrive of the incoming mail, announcing the death of Prof Balfour & Dr Falconer. 11 These are severe losses to natural science to Britain, losses you can ill afford. So the thread of life of one good man after the other is cut and none knows how [soon] his own to this world is [severed].

Your faithfully attached

Ferd. Mueller

 

The Leichhardt movement is progressing here fairly, but we want some European Aid. My adress was spontaneously republished here in 36! papers in extenso (36). 12

 
1
MS annotation by Hooker: 'From Roebuck Bay (small plant of Todea hymenophylloides from "Roebuck Bay" Australia n.19'. [The New Zealand Todea hymenophylloides is not listed as an Australian species in APNI.]
2
Qld.
3
James Martin.
4
B65.04.01.
5
Drymispermum?
6
editorial addition .
7
In 65.04.01, M described Coelospermum paniculatum, p. 19, Drymispermum neumanni, p. 26, Hugonia jenkinsii, p. 7, Ligustrum australianum, p. 20, Tetracera nordtiana, p. 1, Pithecolobium tozeri, p. 10 ; and erected Brombya (B. platynema), p. 4, Gillbeea (G. adenopetala), p. 17, Faradaya (F. splendida), p. 21, Cardwellia (C. sublimis), p. 24, Irvingia (I. australiana), p. 18, Macintyria (M. octandra), p. 8.
8
There had been difficulties between Walter Hill and M. Hill had written to W. Hooker on 17 February 1863 that: 'Dr Mueller has been endeavouring to get all my specimens sent to him instead to you. This I have refused to do and he has wrote several letters to Sir George Bowen about them and at last he has got Sir Henry Barkly to write to Sir George Bowen. Still I have refused and Sir George Bowen thinks I am quite right in sending them to you. Dr Muller has not acted fair with me for the plants I have sent to him before' (RBG Kew, Directors' letters, vol. LXXV, Australian and Pacific letters 1859-65, letter no. 78).
9
extraordinary?
10
B65.04.01, p. 14; E. colossea is briefly described in B69.10.01 but treated as a 'nom. dub.' in APNI.
11
Hugh Falconer died on 31 January 1865. 'Balfour' is probably an error by the telegraph clerk: the London Times , 31 January 1865, p. 9, col. f, announced the death on 30 January 1865 of Edmund Belfour, Secretary to the Royal College of Surgeons.
12
B65.02.01, and other versions listed in that entry in the Mueller bibliography. Not all 36 versions have been identified.

Please cite as “FVM-65-04-18,” 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/65-04-18