London
25, WILTON PLACE, S.W.
Decr 21 1868
My dear Sir
I send by this mail the remaining sheets of the 4th volume of the Flora Australiensis. The volume was published about ten days since and the publishers inform me that the thirty copies for your Government were forwarded by the same channel as the previous ones I trust they will arrive safe
A box has been sent per Somersetshire containing your specimens of Solaneae Scrophularineae and other remaining Orders included in the fourth volume.
I fear it will be some little time before I shall be able to begin upon the fifth volume. I am obliged to fulfil an old engagement with Martius to work up the Brazilian Caesalpinieae1 which he now presses for and this winter a severe attack of rheumatism has much interfered with my labours When I resume the Australian Flora the remaining gamopetalous Orders and the curvembryous Monochlamydeae will take me some time. These will be followed by Laurineae which I suppose are but few — still I do not think I can come to the Proteaceae (which come next) till next winter
I am having the Hemiarrhena (your Vandellia plantaginea) figured for Hooker's Icones.2 It is one of those provoking plants that interferes with all systematic arrangement
I hope that if you have now a little more leisure since your great Exhibition is over you will take up your projected great work on Eucalyptus — I perceive that Australian botanists are as little satisfied as I am with my classification of the genus and am very anxious to see your cortical system properly worked out for the whole genus — It was quite impossible to do that here from dried specimens even when accompanied by the collectors notes often so vague or contradictory.
I should naturally wish you at this season of the year a merry Christmas and a happy new year but that all that will be over long before this can reach you so that I can only wish you generally health and time to continue your valuable labours
Yours very sincerely
George Bentham
Dr F. Mueller FRS
Caesalpinieae
Eucalyptus
Hemiarrhena
Laurineae
Monochlamydeae
Proteaceae
Scrophularineae
Solaneae
Vandellia plantaginea
Please cite as “FVM-68-12-21,” 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 29 April 2024, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/vonmueller/letters/68-12-21