From Ferdinand von Mueller to Eduard Regel   [Oct 1874]

Ich sende Ihnen eine Liste der Pflanzen, welche M. Giles auf seiner letzten geographischen Reise sammelte. Da diese Notizen nirgends bisher gedruckt sind, so mögen sie Ihnen für die Gartenflora willkommen sein. Unter den von M. Giles gesammelten Pflanzen befinden sich auch mehrere Acacien und Eukalypten, die aber im Blüthen- oder fruchtlosen Zustand nicht sicher benannt werden können. Die neuentdeckten Arten sind mit einem Stern bezeichnet. Neue Genera haben sich unter den gesammelten Pflanzen nicht erwiesen, wohl aber in voriger Reise die merkwürdige Macgregoria, welche eine eigne tribus unter den Stackhousiaceen bildet. Die Wüstenregion, welche dem kühnen Entdecker noch vorlag, schneidet die eigenthümlichen zahlreichen Pflanzenformen Süd-West-Australiens wenigstens bis zum Alfred- und Marie-Gebirge ab, denn ausser Lobelia heterophylla, die wir bisher nicht von ausserhalb S.-W.-Australiens kannten, treten nur Anthotroche und Microcorys mit neuen Formen in Central-Australien auf.

M. Giles Reise, von mir angeregt und dem Plan nach entworfen, auch im ersten Theil grossentheils durch mich unterstützt, hat das doppelte Verdienst, vier oder fünf andere Forschungsreisende (Warburton, Gosse, Ross, Cadell und Forrest) ins Feld gebracht zu haben, und uns den einzigen Ueberlandsweg vom Innern Queenslands, N.-S.-Wales und Süd-Australiens zur Westküste zu geben, auf welchem Schaf- und Rinderheerden fortgebracht werden können. Die Routen von Ross, Gosse und Forrest sind kaum für Pferde und eigentlich nur für Dromedare passirbar.

Von dem Alberga-Flusse bis zum Berg Olga: Lepidium papillosum, Pittosporum phillyroides, Oxalis corniculata, Dodonaea viscosa, Sida virgata, Gossypium Stuartii,1 Codonocarpus cotinifolius, Ptilotus alopecuroides, P. helipteroides, P. obovatus, P. hemisteirus, Chenopodium carinatum, Adriana acerifolia, Ficus platypoda, *Acacia strongylophylla, A. salicina, Petalostylis labicheoides, Cassia artemisioides, C. pleurocarpa, Caulinia procurrens, *Swainsona unifoliolata, Thryptomene Maisonneuvei, Calycothrix longifolia, Didiscus glaucifolius, Calotis lappulacea, Aster subspicatus, Minuria leptophylla, Pterocaulon sphacelatus, Myriocephalus Stuartii, Helichrysum Cassinianum, H. rutidolepis, H. Davenporti,2 H. lucidum, *Helipterum Tietkensi, H. floribundum, H. incanum, Senecio lanatus, S. magnificus, S. Gregorii, Isotoma petraea, Catosperma Muelleri, Goodenia Ramelii, Brunonia australis, Prostanthera striatiflora, Heliotropium asperrimum, Cynoglossum Drummondi, Trichodesma Zeilanicum,3 *Eremophila Gibsoni, E. Willsii, E. latifolia, *Dicrastylis Gilesii, Newcastlia cladotricha, Breweria rosea, Nicotiana suaveolens, Solanum ellipticum, Pimelea trichostachya, Hakea lorea, H. multilineata, Grevillea juneifolia, Casuarina Decaisneana, Callitris verrucosa, Eleusine aegyptiaca, Aristida stipoides, Festuca irritans, Bromus arenarius, Andropogon laniger, Cheilanthes tenuifolia, C. vellea.

Am und auf dem Berg Olga: Hibbertia glaberrima, Sisymbrium trisectum, *Menkea sphaerocarpa, Dodonaea viscosa, Gossypium Sturtii, Sida virgata, S. corrugata, Keraudrenia nephrosperma, Adriana acerifolia, Parietaria debilis, Ptilotus nobilis, P. obovatus, *P. Hoodii, Cyclotheca australasica, Isotropis atropurpurea, *Daviesia artropoda,4 Psoralea patens, Brachysema Chambersii, Cassia artemisioides, C. desolata, C. notabilis, Acacia patens, *A. minutifolia, Thryptomene 0Maisonneuvii, Pluchea Eyria,5 Gnaphalium luteoalbum, G. Japonicum, Wahlenbergia gracilis, Goodenia Vilmoriniae, G. Mueckeana, Prostanthera striatiflora, Cynoglossum Drummondi,6 Trichodesma Zeilanicum, Chloanthes Lewellini, Eremophila alternifolia, E. Latrobei, Tecoma australis var. Oxleyi,7 Justicia juncea, Santalum lanceolatum, Grevillea pterosperma, Gr. juncifolia, Ficus orbicularis, *Eriachne scleranthoides.

Vom Berg Olga bis zum Warburton-Gebirge: Dodonaea viscosa, Adriana acerifolia, Indigofera brevidens, Petalostylis labicheoides, Cassia artemisioides, Acacia aneura, *A. spondylophylla, A. Sentis, A. salicina, Macgregoria racemigera, Ptilotus helipteroides, Cyclotheca australasica, Angianthus tomentosus, Lobelia heterophylla, Goodenia heterochila, G. Ramelii, Dicrastylis ochrotricha, Newcastlia bracteosa, *Prostanthera Wilkiei,8 Plectranthus parviflorus, Erythraea australis, *Anthotroche Blackii, Samolus repens, var, rhombifolia9 (die Blätter fast bis zu einem Zoll breit), Pimelea ammocharis, Grevillea juncifolia, Casuarina Decaisneana, Thysanotus sparteus.

Vom Warburton-Gebirge zum Rawlinson-Gebirge und Petermann- Gebirge: Cleome viscosa, Drosera Indica, Dodonaea viscosa, Tribulus terrestris, Hibiscus Sturtii, Sida inclusa, *S. cardiophylla, Ptilotus obovatus, Cyclotheca australasica, *Swainsona unifoliolata, Clianthus Dampierii, Crotalaria Cunninghami, var flavida,10 Indigofera brevidens, Mirbelia oxyclada, Cassia desolata, C. notabilis, Helichrysum lucidum, H. apiculatum, Goodenia Ramelii, Newcastlia spodiotricha, Eremophila Latrobei, E. Willsii, *E. Elderi, *E. Hughesii, *Dicrastylis Dorani,11 *Microcorys Macrediei,12 *Stemodia pedicellaris, S. viscosa, var. magna,13 Mimulus gracilis, Sarcostemma australe, Tecoma australis var. Oxleyi,14 Santalum lanceolatum, Hakea lorea, Grevillea Wickhami, Casuarina,15 Decaisneana, Callitris verrucosa, Cheilanthes tenuifolia.

I am sending you a list of the plants that Mr Giles collected on his last geographical journey. As these notes hitherto are nowhere printed, they may be welcome to you for the Gartenflora. Among the plants collected by Mr Giles are also several acacias and eucalypts, but which in their flowerless or fruitless condition cannot be safely named. The newly discovered species are indicated with a star.16 New genera have not been demonstrated among the collected plants, but probably in the previous journey the remarkable Macgregoria, which forms its own tribe among the Stackhousiacae. The desert region that still lay before the bold discoverer cuts off the remarkably abundant plant forms of south-west Australia at least up to the Alfred and Marie Ranges, because except Lobelia heterophylla, which hitherto we did not know from outside south-west Australia, only Anthotroche and Microcorys appear with new forms in Central Australia.

Mr Giles journey, instigated and outlined after the plan by me, also in the first part mostly supported by me, had the double reward of having brought four or five other explorers (Warburton, Gosse, Ross, Cadell and Forrest)17 into the field and giving us the sole overland track from the interior of Queensland, New South Wales and South Australia to the west coast, on which flocks of sheep and herds of cattle can be moved. The routes of Ross, Gosse and Forrest are hardly passable for horses and really only passable for dromedaries.

From the Alberga River up to Mount Olga: [list as above]

At and on Mount Olga: [list as above]

From Mount Olga up to the Warburton Ranges: [list as above]

From the Warburton Ranges to the Rawlinson and Petermann Ranges: [list as above]18

Acacia aneura

Acacia minutifolia

Acacia patens

Acacia salicina

Acacia Sentis

Acacia spondylophylla

Adriana acerifolia

Andropogon laniger

Angianthus tomentosus

Anthotroche Blackii

Aristida stipoides

Aster subspicatus

Brachysema Chambersii

Breweria rosea

Bromus arenarius

Brunonia australis

Callitris verrucosa

Calotis lappulacea

Calycothrix longifolia

Cassia artemisioides

Cassia desolata

Cassia notabilis

Cassia pleurocarpa

Casuarina Decaisneana

Catosperma Muelleri

Caulinia procurrens

Cheilanthes tenuifolia

Cheilanthes vellea

Chenopodium carinatum

Chloanthes Lewellini

Cleome viscosa

Clianthus Dampierii

Codonocarpus cotinifolius

Crotalaria Cunninghami var flavida

Cyclotheca australasica

Cynoglossum Drummondi

Daviesia artropoda

Dicrastylis Dorani

Dicrastylis Gilesii

Dicrastylis ochrotricha

Didiscus glaucifolius

Dodonaea viscosa

Drosera Indica

Eleusine aegyptiaca

Eremophila alternifolia

Eremophila Elderi

Eremophila Gibsoni

Eremophila Hughesii

Eremophila latifolia

Eremophila Latrobei

Eremophila Latrobei

Eremophila Willsii

Eriachne scleranthoides

Erythraea australis

Festuca irritans

Ficus orbicularis

Ficus platypoda

Gnaphalium Japonicum

Gnaphalium luteoalbum

Goodenia heterochila

Goodenia Mueckeana

Goodenia Ramelii

Goodenia Vilmoriniae

Gossypium Stuartii

Grevillea juncifolia

Grevillea pterosperma

Grevillea Wickhami

Hakea lorea

Hakea multilineata

Helichrysum apiculatum

Helichrysum Cassinianum

Helichrysum Davenporti

Helichrysum lucidum

Helichrysum rutidolepis

Heliotropium asperrimum

Helipterum floribundum

Helipterum incanum

Helipterum Tietkensi

Hibbertia glaberrima

Hibiscus Sturtii

Indigofera brevidens

Isotoma petraea

Isotropis atropurpurea

Justicia juncea

Keraudrenia nephrosperma

Lepidium papillosum

Lobelia heterophylla

Macgregoria racemigera

Menkea sphaerocarpa

Microcorys Macrediei

Mimulus gracilis

Minuria leptophylla

Mirbelia oxyclada

Myriocephalus Stuartii

Newcastlia bracteosa

Newcastlia cladotricha

Newcastlia spodiotricha

Nicotiana suaveolens

Oxalis corniculata

Parietaria debilis

Petalostylis labicheoides

Pimelea ammocharis

Pimelea trichostachya

Pittosporum phillyroides

Plectranthus parviflorus

Pluchea Eyria

Prostanthera striatiflora

Prostanthera Wilkiei

Psoralea patens

Pterocaulon sphacelatus

Ptilotus alopecuroides

Ptilotus helipteroides

Ptilotus hemisteirus

Ptilotus Hoodii

Ptilotus nobilis

Ptilotus obovatus

Samolus repens var rhombifolia

Santalum lanceolatum

Sarcostemma australe

Senecio Gregorii

Senecio lanatus

Senecio magnificus

Sida cardiophylla

Sida corrugata

Sida inclusa

Sida virgata

Sisymbrium trisectum

Solanum ellipticum

Stackhousiaceae

Stemodia pedicellaris

Stemodia viscosa var. magna

Swainsona unifoliolata

Tecoma australis var. Oxleyi

Thryptomene Maisonneuvei

Thysanotus sparteus

Tribulus terrestris

Trichodesma Zeilanicum

Wahlenbergia gracilis

G. sturtii? See 77.10.01, p. 271, and APNI entry.

H. davenportii?

T. zeylanicum? APNI does not list T. zeilanicum as an orthographic variant.

Typesetting error for D. arthropoda?

Typesetting error for P. eyrea?

C. drummondii?

This variety name has not been found except in this letter: T. oxleyi was described in A. P. de Candolle (1845), p. 225.

Described as Prostanthera wilkieana in B74.09.02, p. 230.

This variety name has not been found except in this letter.

This variety name has not been found except in this letter.

Described as Dicrastylis Doranii in B74.09.02, p. 230; M used D. dorani in B84.08.02, p. 16 and elsewhere.

Described as Microcorys macredieana in B74.09.02, p. 231.

This variety name has not been found except in this letter.

See n. 8 above.

Comma inserted in error?

The species so marked were described in B74.09.02, except for Acacia minutifolia and Sida cardiophylla which were described in B74.10.01.

Peter Warburton, William Gosse, Francis Cadell, John Ross, John Forrest.

M's list is followed by a report on John Forrest's 1874 expedition eastwards from the Murchison River in WA to the Overland Telegraph line. The report on his journey that Forrest sent to Adelaide on 30 September 1874 from the Peake telegraph station, following his arrival there, was published in Adelaide the next day and subsequently in newspapers throughout Australia; see, for example, South Australian register, 1 October 1874, p. 5. The report published by Regel, while probably based on a newspaper clipping sent to him by M, was somewhat briefer; its source has not been identified.

Letter not found. The text given here is from 'Bericht des Herrn Baron F. v. Müller über die Pflanzen der Expedition des Herrn Giles' [Report of Baron F. v. Mueller on the plants of the expedition of Mr Giles], Gartenflora, vol. 24 (1875), pp. 28-9 (B75.01.09). Gartenflora was issued in undated parts, with a standard structure; the pages cited here are in the first of the 12 parts, so assumed to be January 1875. The letter is dated to October 1874 on the basis of M's comment in M to A. Petermann, 6 October 1874, that he had sent a list of the plants found by Ernest Giles to Regel. It is introduced (pp. 27-8) by:

Aus Australien. Die Karte der Erforschungsreise des Herrn Giles zwischen dem 126—134. Längegrad und 23—27° s. Br. im Innern Australiens, welche wir der Güte des Herrn Baron F. v. Müller verdanken, liegt vor uns. Herr F. v. Müller hat auch bereits schon die von Giles gesammelten Pflanzen bearbeitet. In Bezug auf die Verbreitung von Pflanzen ist es besonders auffallend, wie unter den aus jenen der Wissenschaft neu erschlossenen Gebieten sich so manche finden, welche auch als Bewohner der alten Welt bekannt sind, so Trichodesma zeylanicum, die in Südeuropa und Egypten heimische Eleusine aegyptiaca, Drosera indica aus Ostindien, der in Südeuropa und Afrika heimische Tribulus terrestris.

Herr Baron Müller hatte die Güte, uns in Bezug auf die Ergebnisse der botanischen Ausbeute des Herrn Giles die unten folgenden Mittheilungen zu machen, aus denen hervorgeht, welche reichen Pflanzenschätze unsere Gärten aus jenen Gegenden noch zu erwarten haben

[From Australia. The map of the expedition of Mr Giles between 126-134 degrees of longitude and 23-27° south latitude in the interior of Australia, which we owe to the kindness of Baron F von Mueller, lies before us. Herr F. von Mueller has also already worked on the plants collected by Giles. In reference to the distribution of plants it is particularly striking how among them so many are found from those regions newly opened to science that are also known as inhabitants of the Old World, thus Trichodesma zeylanicum, Eleusine aegyptiaca native to southern Europe and Egypt, Drosera indica from East Indies, and Tribulus terrestris native to southern Europe and Africa.

Baron Mueller had the goodness to give us the following communication in reference to the results of the botanical yields of Mr Giles, from which follows what rich plant treasures our gardens have yet to expect from those regions.]

Please cite as “FVM-74-10-00,” 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 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/vonmueller/letters/74-10-00