To Odoardo Beccari   31 December 1877

On board of the “Assam”

Newyears eve 1877.

 

When returning from a phytographic excursion to Shark-Bay and other portions of West-Australia, dear Dr Beccari, I received your kind letter of the 10th September, 1 to which I now briefly reply on board of the Steamer on my route to Melbourne. I received your valuable first part of the publication on Melanesian plants, 2 for which I owe you my best thanks. What a flood of light that work will shed on New Guinea and the neighbouring islands! My “Papuan plants” 3 will be more an account of the S. E. vegetation, while your work will more particularly refer to the N. W.

Your plant N. 7 made on me the impression of being epacrideous. I will examine the stomata when I return. I did not see any oil glands in the leaves.

N.12 will be examined in the next number of the “Papuan plants”. 4 As you are so very friendly to offer me some orders of the Papuan plants for elaboration, I would venture to ask for any of the following 5

Epacrideae

Restiaceae, Centrolepideae.

Goodeniaceae

Ericeae Pedalineae

Stackhousiaceae

Pittosporeae

Mimoseae

Stylideae.

Gentianeae

Proteaceae, Santalaceae, Loranthaceae.

Saxifrageae. Combretaceae and any genus of prevailingly A ustralian type. If you desire for comparison any Australian species of Indian genera, I will forward them to you through the Italian Consulate. So Dr Raddlekofer 6 had most of my Sapindaceae. You can have besides extensive collections of Australian plants, if you will kindly let me have duplicates of yours when finally you come to distribute them.

What a great loss, that of Parlatore, as just announced by the Signora. 7 So unexpected a loss. I had hoped to meet that great man some day in Italy.

With regardful remembrance

Ferd. von Mueller

 

Should you favor me with your material of one or more of the orders mentioned, then the manuscript (if you desire it) can either be furnished for the “Malesia”, or it could be published in the “Papuan plants.”

Do you think it desirable that a French or Italian Translation of the “select plants” 8 should be issued. I would give the permission gratuitously to any Translator & printer & could furnish additional data.

 
 

Combretaceae

Epacrideae

Ericeae

Gentianeae

Goodeniaceae

Loranthaceae.

Mimoseae

Pedalineae

Pittosporeae

Proteaceae

Restiaceae

Santalaceae

Saxifrageae

Stackhousiaceae

Stylideae

1
Letter not found.
2
Malesian? Cf. Beccari (1877-90), part 1, issued April 1877 (TL2).
3
B75.11.01 and later fascicles.
4
The final numbers of the first part of M’s Papuan plants had been issued during 1877. The next number issued, the first number of Part. 2, was B85.06.03. M explained the lapse because Beccari was publishing Malesia , and the resumption because of the Australian-sponsored expedition of Captain Everill and the Australian support of the British-organized expedition under H. O. Forbes (B85.06.03, pp. 1–2).
5
any of the following interlined.
6
Radlkofer. see M to L. Radlkofer, 14 August 1869, Radlkofer (1877).
7
See M to Eugenia Parlatore, 18 January 1878.
8
B76.12.04.

Please cite as “FVM-77-12-31a,” 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 26 April 2024, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/vonmueller/letters/77-12-31a