To George Bentham   26 September 1873

Melbourne

26/9/73.

It was quite a source of delight to me in my present misery, dear Mr Bentham, to receive the proof sheets by last mail.¹ It is quite marvellous to me to behold your work, which proceeds with a celerity, which is astonishing to everyone. I now glance over the new pages a second time, and give you a few hasty annotations, such as a local observer, like myself, can perhaps make best of all.²

p. 210 Fagus Gunnii. On this and many other plants of Tasmania some notes have been placed before the R.S. of Tasmania at its last meeting.³

p. 211. Fagus Cunninghami. Dandenong Range and Upper La Trobe River.

p. 214. Santalum lanceolatum. Fruit black.

p. 216. Fusanus accuminatus;⁴ along the whole Murray scrubs in South Australia, also about St Vincents Gulf and Lake Torrens.

Fusanus persicarius. Not rare on the River Murray in N.S. Wales, likewise on the River Darling.

p. 217. F. crassifolius. Not occurring in Victoria and therefore not extending to South Australia.

p. 218. Choretrum glomeratum. Calyx white, without any tinge of yellow.

p. 219. C. spicatum. On the Murray in N.S.W. All Desert plants of the Murray River belong to N.S Wales also.

p. 223. Leptomeria aphylla. N.S.W. The Serra Range of Sir Thomas Mitchell belongs to Victoria.⁵ The plant occurs as far as Lake Torrens.

p. 229. Exocarpus cupressiformis. Common throughout Victoria and the more southern parts of Australia.

p. 230. Exocarpus aphylla. Murray Desert in Victoria.

p. 237. Frenela robusta. Western side of Carpentaria.

p. 241. Microcachrys tetragona. Mount Field East.

Arthrotaxis. D. Don wrote the genus Athrotaxis.

p. 242. A. cupressoides. Lake Fenton.

A. laxifolia. Also at Lake Fenton and Mount Field East.

A. selaginoides. With the 2 others far from the Western Mountains.

p. 243. Araucaria Bidwilli. The occurrence of the tree between Rockinghams Bay & Cleveland Bay is denied by Mr Fitzalan. I believe Mr Hill had his information from the natives only.

p. 244. Dammara. Seemann figured a species from Feegee.⁶

D. robusta. Found by Dallachy also near Rockinghams Bay

p. 245. Dammara Franklini⁷ "Huon" Pine after the Huon River.

p. 248. Podocarpus alpina Mount Buller. Haidinger's Range. and other high alpine mountains.⁸

p. 249. Cycas media. I gave in my report on the Burdekin Expedition p. 18⁹ the hight of the plant as 70 feet on Fitzalan's authority.

p. 253. Macrozamia Perowskiana. The specific name is not only of a recent date for Macrozamia, but it was given originally in Petersburg under the erroneous idea that the plant came from Mexico. Regel last year or the year before had an article on this plant in the "Gartenflora", reestablishing Lepidozamia.¹⁰

p. 256. Hydrocharis Morsus ranae. Truly indigenous at Moreton's Bay.

p. 257. Ottelia ovalifolia. Lake Alexandrina is in S. Australia, This plant is frequent through the whole of extratropic Australia and occurs also in many parts of tropic Australia. I could not carry specimens from many localities.¹¹

p. 260. Hydrilla verticillata. Murray River in N.S.W. & South Australia.

p. 261. Musaceae. There seems no gain in reducing the order to Scitamineae.

M. Banksii. Endlicher (flor. Norfolk.)¹² records a species as seen by Sir Jos Banks, who probably could not restore his specimens like many others, when his collections became soaked with seawater through the leak of the Ship near Endeavour River.¹³

Musa Banksii has recently been found at Endeavour River or near it! The reference to Banks plant is in Governor Hunters Work on N.S Wales.¹⁴

p. 275. Oberonia palmicola. Kelleway.

p. 288. Dendrobium cucumerium. Named by Mr M’Leay. Found beyond Rockhampton by Mr Hartmann.

p. 294. Sarcochilus parviflorus Prefers Aster argophyllus for growth.

p. 327. Diuris palustris The Burra Burra is in S. Australia.

R Browns locality of Choretrum lateriflorum at K. G. S.¹⁵ rests clearly on a misplacement of labels only, for otherwise he could not have failed to record it also from the vicinity of Sydney, where he stayed so long.

Frenela Macleayana was found by the late Mr Tozer at the Hastings.¹⁶ My friend Mons Thozet was never there.

Have you compared the figure of a Dipodium given by Reichenbach in the Xenia?¹⁷

Nageia must as a genus take precedence before Podocarpus.

Macrozamia spiralis descend south to near Twofold Bay, altho' it does not actualy come as far as Victoria.¹⁸

¹⁹ The note of Forster, who doubtless learned it from Sir Joseph Banks himself, that the latter found a Musa on the Australian Continent is printed in Hunter's Nachrichten von Neu Süd Wallis as translated by Forster²⁰ p. 290 and Bemerkung p. 157.²¹ Musa Banksii is not uncommon in N. E. Australia, and I do not think that Sir Jos Banks or Dr Solander could have passed so conspicuous a plant on Endeavour River.²²

Araucaria Bidwilli

Arthrotaxis

Aster argophyllus

Athrotaxis cupressoides

Athrotaxis laxifolia

Athrotaxis selaginoides

Choretrum glomeratum

Choretrum lateriflorum

Choretrum spicatum

Cycas media

Dammara Franklini

Dammara robusta

Dendrobium cucumerinum

Dipodium

Diuris palustris

Exocarpus aphylla

Exocarpus cupressiformis

Fagus Cunninghami

Fagus Gunnii

Frenela Macleayana

Frenela robusta

Fusanus accuminatus

Fusanus crassifolius

Fusanus persicarius

Hydrilla verticillata

Hydrocharis Morsus ranae

Lepidozamia

Leptomeria aphylla

Macrozamia Perowskiana

Macrozamia spiralis

Microcachrys tetragona

Musa Banksii

Musaceae

Nageia

Oberonia palmicola

Ottelia ovalifolia.

Podocarpus alpina

Santalum lanceolatum

Sarcochilus parviflorus

Scitamineae