25, WILTON PLACE. S.W.
London
June 1876
My dear Sir
During a short visit I lately paid to Paris1 a second box of your Monocotyledons was I am informed sent off to you from Kew and the bill of lading duly forwarded to you by post.2 I trust you will have received it safely
Since my return I have done the Aroideae. I have ascertained that the leaves which Brown mistook for those of Dracontium3 belong to the Brachyspatha variabilis which is Schultz's n. 562 from Port Darwin4 — the leaf in your herbarium which you thought might be Brown's plant is I think that of Tacca pinnatifida — The leaves of Dracontium and Brachyspatha are so much alike as to be distinguishable only by a close examination of the venation
I have some difficulty in identifying some of Brown's Monocotyledons from his not having always revised his labels after the publication of the Prodromus5 but with some study I think I clear them up pretty well. Several of his Eriocaulons are neither in your collection nor in that of Kew6
I have a few small families to finish up and in a few days hope to attack the Restiaceae
In the box sent you will find a copy of the new part of Genera Plantarum7 I hope some Australian botanists may order the work which is a heavy expense to us
I trust that by the time you receive this you will have kindly sent off the Cyperaceae and Gramineae for which I hope to be ready in the course of September
Yours very truly
George Bentham
Baron F. v. Mueller
Aroideae
Brachyspatha variabilis
Cyperaceae
Dracontium
Eriocaulon
Gramineae
Restiaceae
Tacca pinnatifida
Bentham was in Paris from 2 to 10 June 1876. On 5 June, he took his seat as membre correspondant at the Académie des Sciences. See B. Jackson (1906), pp. 236-7.
Bill of lading not found.
R. Brown (1810), p. 337; see comments in Bentham (1863-78), vol. 6, p. 155.
Frederick Schultze collected around Darwin, 1869-70.
R. Brown (1810).
The Australian collections of Robert Brown (1773-1858) were at the British Museum.
Bentham & Hooker (1862-83). Part 2 of vol. 2 was published in May 1876 (TL2).
Pencilled at top of letter in M's hand: '[Ba]tis, Halorageae Plantagineae (Myriceae Schnizlein)'.
Please cite as “FVM-76-06-00,” 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