Melbourne bot garden
1/12/71.
Since I wrote last, dear Dr Hooker, I was able to secure yet for the Niagara stems of
Dicksonia squarrosa
Cyathea dealbata [&]
Cyathea Smithii,
of which you can have one stem of each for Kew and one for Mr Booth of Flottbeck, if you desire it.1
You will also get by the Niagara gigantic stems of Dicksonia antarctica and one very tall one of Alsophila Australis, if you value them for Kew or Flottbeck.
The Captain of the Niagra2 has fine accommodation for these stems and will water them on the voyage. He retains some himself for the owners of the ship, and the rest of these ferns got thus a free passage. You are entitled to select the largest specimens.
Lately the large Iridea of Lord Howe's Island has flowered. It proves a new Iris of the section Moraea, which I have named Iris (Moraea) Robinsonii in honor of my friend Sir Hercules Robinson, the Governor of Ceylon, who is promoted lately to the Governor Ship of N.S. Wales. Hence this Iris belongs to his territory now. It is in flower much like Iris compressa Thunb., on which Linné founded his genus Moraea, but the leaves and stem are as large as that of Phormium! To me it seems clear, That Kers & Endlischers genus Moraea, (but not Thunbergs) must fall together with Iris, by which means we obtain a very natural genus, ranging still wider then Sisyrinchium.3
Klatts notes on the S. African Irideae4 I have not yet seen. Our late lamented friend, Prof Harvey, never likely entering on a comparison of Iris & Moraea, keeps in your edition of his genera only Moraea up.5
I have established also a new genus of Saxifrageae from Lord Howes Island, namely Colmeiroa,6 next to Carpodetus, but the cells are one seeded, & it is differing also in some other respect Colmeiroa of Reuter is not upheld by [J ] Müller as you know.7
There are several other plants from Ld Howes Island, which I have examined for the current number of the Fragmenta, which is to appear this month.8 But what is this to the treasures of the wonderland New Guinea!
For the first time since 1847, I have no letters by mail from Europe through the sinking of the Rangoon at Ceylon.9 I trust, that all my friends & correspondents will repeat in their next months letter, what they wrote & send duplicates of any prints lost with the wreck at Point d[e] Gall[e].
Possibly Mr Bentham may have written to obtain new material; so he must kindly repeat his wishes.
The loss of Sir Rod. Murchison is a sad one to Geography & Geology.10 To me he always proved a kind condescending friend. I wished he could have lived to see Livingstone return, if indeed that brave man will really ever see civilisation again.11
Always yr
Ferd. von Mueller
The Captain has 2 tall Alsophilas from me. Perhaps he would spare one for Mr Booth, and take an other Dicksonia
The Australian Eclipse Expedition may bring a few new plants from Cape Sidmouth.12 I am promoting also, indeed called forth Mr Giles Expedition from the S. Austr telegraph line to West Australia, probably the River Murchison.13
Alsophila Australis
Carpodetus
Colmeiroa
Cyathea dealbata
Cyathea Smithii
Dicksonia antarctica
Dicksonia squarrosa
Iridea
Iris compressa
Iris Robinsonii
Moraea Robinsonii
Phormium
Saxifrageae
Sisyrinchium
Please cite as “FVM-71-12-01c,” 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 28 March 2024, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/vonmueller/letters/71-12-01c