1/9/80
Allow me to ask you, dear Dr Beccari, whether you could ascertain in Labillardières collection (among Webbs)1, what really his Mimosa saligna may be. I doubt much that it is Acacia leiophylla;2 but from a small fragment of a specimen of Labillardière, kindly given to me by M. Decaisne it is certainly not that species, but it is too small a fragment to come to any fair conclusions about it. Perhaps you have better material for examination at Florence, or could even perhaps spare me some for identification. Let me hope that your Malesia3 is well proceeding.
I hope you received all the Eucalyptus Decades4 rightly and free of cost.
Regardfully your
Ferd. von Mueller
Acacia leiophylla
Mimosa saligna
P. H. Webb's large herbarium and botanical library were bequeathed to the Duke of Tuscany for Florence, and included 'toutes les plantes recueilles par Labillardière dans ses voyages et illustrées dans ses ouvrages' [all the plants collected by Labillardière in his travels and illustrated in his works] (Parlatore (1874), p. 16).
See Bentham (1863-78), vol. 2, p. 364 for doubts about Labillardières species.
Beccari (1877-90).
B79.13.11 (and possibly also Decades 5 and 6 of B80.13.14 which had been received elsewhere in Europe by September 1880).
Please cite as “FVM-80-09-01a,” 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