Mount Gellibrand, 17/5/75
While on a professional journey in the western districts of Victoria, dear and generous friend, I have here to conduct the monthly mail correspondence, and must take thus the earliest opportunity of thanking you for your friendly letter of the 1st March,1 and to plead excuse for my assistant having inconsiderately sent off by one mail (I trust — as he says — by one mail only in my absense) prints to you & other scientific friends in a closed envelope, he being erroneously informed at the Melbourne post-office, that the Governments Frankstamp of Victoria would carry free all over the world, while — as I well know — it does not even "frank" letters &c to British possessions in South Africa and Canada, with which hitherto not even reciprocity exists. Let us hope, that official franks reciprocity will be initiated between all Governments.
I am sending by this post to Dr Ascherson the fruit of Amphibolis zosterifolia, it consists of two free carpidia with a long style, furcate towards the summit. So far as I am aware only the male flowers were hitherto known. I also send to this old investigator of marine monocotyledoneae now the ripe fruit of Zostera Tasmanica.
When describing lately a remarkable new Utricularia and comparing my extraaustralian material, I found Aldrovanda vesiculosa without name from a locality near Breslau (out of Dr Steetz's collection) Is the occurrence of Aldrovanda so far north known. Here it has been found in East Australia near the tropic of capricorn. Like many other water plants this has probably been often overlooked. I know it from vol. 1 [...].
I am delighted to learn, that you & your promising and able son will continue monographically the prodromus and will renew some of the older parts.2 If you will let me timely know, what orders are first to come on, then I will send you as much material as I have available.
I suppose your London adress continues Trübner & Co.
It seems to have been neglected to send you the Fragmenta lately. Up to N. 74 have appeared3
With the greatest devotion your
Ferd. von Mueller
I will try, as soon as I get a little leisure, to resume sending duplicates to you.
I have just [...] or a plant [like it] in Central Australia
I found here lately Wolffia Micheli4 in masses but not in fl. or fr.
Aldrovanda vesiculosa
Amphibolis zosterifolia
Monocotyledoneae
Utricularia
Wolffia Micheli
Zostera Tasmanica
Please cite as “FVM-75-05-17,” 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