To [George Bentham]1    July 1872

[July 1872]2

Sketch of Doryanthes Hartmanni,3 copied from a pencil drawing of Mr Hartmann; who discovered this noble plant on rocky cataracts beyond Towomba,4 Queensland.5

 
 

The spicate inflorescence is very different to that of D. excelsa. How far it agrees with D. Palmeri of Hill I cannot say, as I never saw flowers of D. Hartmanni and never any other parts of D. Palmeri than one single flower, which is smaller than that of D. excelsa.

 

Doryanthes excelsa

Doryanthes Hartmanni

Doryanthes Palmeri

Bentham is the most likely recipient, as he had not at this stage commenced worked on the Australian Amaryllideae (see G. Bentham to M, 19 November 1872).
Editorial addition. The earliest probable date is July 1872; see C. Hartmann to M, 28 June 1872, in which finding the species was described.
Not in IPNI; Bentham (1863-78), vol. 6, pp. 452-3, includes a specimen from Hartmann under D. palmeri, but from 'Mackenzie River' which is inland from Rockhampton, Qld, not near Toowoomba.
Toowoomba, Qld.
The original image is 128 mm wide by 89mm deep; see 72-07-00_image01.jpg.

Please cite as “FVM-72-07-00,” 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 March 2024, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/vonmueller/letters/72-07-00