To George Bentham   23 February 1867

2[3]/2/67

It gave me great pleasure, dear Mr Bentham, to receive your very kind letter of the 19 Dec¹ & the finishing proofsheets of the 3. vol.² I admire much your arrangement & methodical treatment of so much difficult material & you have placed by your great researches in this volume your claims on scientific acknowledgement still higher

I have freely given you my opinions on some points; requiring still extended consideration. The Diagnosis of Langes Erechtites Muelleri I enclose.³ An unfortunate renaming of Diplanthera tetraphylla has taken place (for similar causes as led to the establishing of Argyrodendron).⁴ RBr in placing the genus in Scrophularinae has misled us all. It is strange that he should not have remembered this peculiar form of Anthers in so many bignoniaceae. I thus only accidentally recognized the indentity of Bulweria nobilissima & Diplanthera tetraphylla. The genus Deplanchea, as Seeman has pointed out, belongs seemingly also to this genus.⁵ I have Panchers specimens & will carefully analyze them. At present I am still among Goodeniaceae, the Exhibition duties absorbing most of my time, but this very day it closes after 1[6] months engagements,⁶ and altho' more particularly on my recommendation an industrial Museum will arise out of it, yet I hope I can work on that at leisure, if I undertake in it the administration of the phytological branch. The "Kent" sails in the middle of next week. If not by her I will send the rest of the Goodeniaceae &c by next clipper. I have forwarded some and the Lobeliaceae by the Great Britain.⁷

Of the limits of the genera of Angiantheae we shall still get a better knowledge by additional interior explorations, as many of these little annuals are evidently as yet overlooked. Indeed many of these are only during the winter rains to be had; hence travellers may often pass over districts with new forms of these & never get the plants, even if eager for them. They evidently constitute a fe[a]ture in the flora of Central Australia.

What are your views on the elaboration of the Acotyledonous plants? The filices are easy of examination and the Algae are extant in poor Harveys superb work;⁸ but what is to be done with Lichens, Lichenastra, Musci, Fungi, Characeae? It would be well to come to some timely arrangement on the subject & to entrust the task to safe conservative workers.

The Rev. Mr Berkeley might be able to find time for fungi, but it appears to me very doubtful; I intend, if providence grants me health, to study these plants for a summer in our ranges. My own cryptogamic material is much scattered in continental collections. Still there is a good deal here & at Kew.

You will find RBr's Monopetaleae doubled & tripled

I am looking forward with deep interest to the genera plantarum.⁹ Indeed I hope you will for the sake of the Australian plants not let that far more important work come into arrear.

I have pointed out the best characters of Oenanthe and proved its existence in Australia.¹⁰

I have done to a small extent for the Exhibition what you desire for generalisation of Australian vegetation,¹¹ but in an exhaustive manner I will do it at the close of your volumes, & combine a special little work with phytographic maps.¹²

Your regardful

Ferd Mueller

Algae

Angiantheae

Argyrodendron

Bignoniaceae

Bulweria nobilissima

Characeae

Deplanchea

Diplanthera tetraphylla.

Erechtites Muelleri

Filices

Fungi

Goodeniacae

Lichenastra

Lichens

Lobeliaceae

Monopetaleae

Musci

Oenanthe

Scrophularinae