From George Bentham   25 September 1866

25, WILTON PLACE, S.W.

Sept 25 1866

My dear Sir

I have now returned to my work which I have commenced this morning at Kew I there found yours of the 26th June which I proceed to answer.

The two sp. of Hedyotis sent with the letter are both new to the Australian Flora but too late for my work of which the Rubiaceae were printed off in June — one of them (H. macra F. Muell.¹) is the 1-flowered pedunculate form of O. herbacea² DC or H. Burmanniana W. et A. the other (H. sclerophylla F. Muell³) is O. paniculata Linn or H. racemosa Lam, both of them widely spread Asiatic forms which I had been surprised not yet to have met with from Australia and both have numerous synonyms given in Wight and Arnott's Prodromus⁴ and in my Flora Hongkongensis⁵ p. 150, 151 — The Morinda mussaendina F. Muell.⁶ is my M. reticulata p. 424 of Fl. Austral. v. III. The petallike expansions of one bract to each head cannot I think make a generic character as it is not constant in Mussaenda Calycophyllum and other genera where it occurs.

I felt much disappointed at not finding the remaining Compositae arrived as I hoped to finish the volume offhand I learn however from Dr Hooker that he has this day received intelligence of their being shipped and I trust I shall still be able to avail myself of them. I shall have the whole worked up on the materials we have (a great portion is written out for press) and shall only have to revise when your parcels arrive. I am exceedingly anxious to proceed rapidly with the Flora as I feel that at my age I may any day have to strike work and I know of no young botanist here ready to take it up upon my failing. The Genera Plantarum⁷ is in excellent train in Dr Hooker's hands but neither he nor any one else I know has time for the tedious working up of species necessary for the Flora — I may be wrong in genera as well as in species but still I hope I shall have cleared the way in establishing the synonyms of the majority of old species and leaving tolerably authentic types both in your and our collections to guide those who may hereafter undertake an improved Flora of Australia. As to Olearia I should have been sorry to have established half a hundred new synonyms but I think you will find that out of 61 species which I admit, there are only 25 that I first put into Olearia. I would also add that upon consulting A. Gray who has specially devoted much attention to the Asteroideae and whose opinions carry the greatest weight amongst botanists he tells me that he feels convinced that Olearia (including Eurybia) must be kept up.⁸

It is very possible as you say that I may have confounded some specimens of Eucalyptus rostrata and E. viminalis. Our specimens of trees are often very bad and when at the best are often all fragments only and may very frequently be taken from branches or shoots or individuals accidentally abnormal — and I know I often hesitated much and remained in doubt about particular specimens in the enormous mass I had before me from half a dozen different herbaria which I had to take care of not to mix.

You will see that I referred to the account of Loranthaceae you gave in the Rep. Burdek. Exped.⁹

You allude to "many valuable volumes" I sent for your Library but I think it is to some one else that your thanks are due. I do not recollect having sent them to you.¹⁰

I trust you will kindly send off the gamopetalous Order following Compositae so as to reach me as early after Christmas as possible in order that I may proceed with the fourth vol. — which I suppose will include pretty well all the Monopetalae as no orders are very numerous except Epacrideae

Yours very sincerely

George Bentham

Dr F. Mueller

Asteroideae

Calycophyllum

Compositae

Epacrideae

Eucalyptus rostrata

Eucalyptus viminalis

Eurybia

Hedyotis Burmanniana

Hedyotis macra

Hedyotis paniculata

Hedyotis racemosa

Hedyotis sclerophylla

Loranthaceae

Morinda mussaendina

Morinda reticulata

Mussaenda

Oldenlandia herbacea

Olearia

Rubiaceae