Brisbane
July 7. 1872
Dear Sir.
I enclose you my very indifferent example of Hypolaena exsulca RBr. ♀, and also Anarthria prolifera, Carpha alpina RBr. Scleria rugosa, Restio monocephalus, Restio fasciculatus & Rhyncospora longiseta1 which are all authentic. Restio monocephalus I named no doubt by inadvertence from memory R. capitatus.2 Also an Arthrochilus, which I sent to Kew three or four years since, and named A. caliciformis though foliosus would be a better specific name,3 if the thing is really distinct from your Ar. irritabilis, which is not rare near Brisbane, but I have never been able to find another example of the first. When I saw it, I supposed it to be a new genus, and named it Arthrochilus, not knowing you had anticipated me, for there is next to no scientific library here and the few books worth consulting are scarcely accessible.
I saw in Feby. four fine examples of A. irritabilis in the Kew herbarium, and have never seen any here so large — by the way the movement of the [leaves] in the upper part of the resupinate labellum is one of mobility, not irritability.
You have no doubt long since received examples of the ferns brought from the north by Mr Hill in 1865; there was among them a certain Lindsaea which seems to be accepted at Kew as L. cultrata, which is no doubt its nearest ally, but it seems to me to differ from the Common East Indian fern in habit, in the crowded [pinnules], in the uniformly smaller stature, and in one or two other slight particulars which would make it at least a marked Australian var.
My favourite family is Graminaceae, and if you have any duplicates of Southern & S. Western genera, particularly Pentapogon, Danthonia, Poa, Pappophorum, Triraphis, Ectrosia Panicum, Neurachne, Isachne, Andropogon, Hierochloe, & Tetrarrhena except T. juncea, or any Algae, you would confer an obligation upon me, could you spare them.
I am of course much obliged by your offer of a regular correspondence, as I cannot fail to benefit by communication with so consummate a botanist.
Believe me, my dear baron
Yours very faithfully
Chas. Prentice.
Anarthria prolifera
Andropogon
Arthrochilus caliciformis
Arthrochilus foliosus
Arthrochilus irritabilis
Carpha alpina
Danthonia
Ectrosia
Graminaceae
Hierochloe
Hypolaena exsulca
Isachne
Lindsaea cultrata
Neurachne
Panicum
Pappophorum
Pentapogon
Poa
Restio capitatus
Restio fasciculatus
Restio monocephalus
Rhyncospora longiseta
Scleria rugosa
Tetrarrhena juncea
Triraphis
Rhynchospora longisetis?
No publication of Restio capitatus has been found (APNI, IPNI, accessed 14 June 2023).
No publication of either Arthrochilus caliciformis or A. foliosus has been found (APNI, IPNI, accessed 14 June 2023).
MS found with a specimen of Arthrochilus irritabilis (MEL 39777). MS annotation by M: 'Answ 17/7/72 F.v.M'. Letter not found.
Please cite as “FVM-72-07-07,” 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