3/2/81
Dear Professor
I have looked over your index of S.A. extratrop plants1 & am much gratified with it. It gives a good idea of the flora there and of the distribution of its constituents. When the inland & water flora shall have become better known, you will be likely able to advance the number of species to 2000, though adding hardly new spec. to science
Melothria Muelleri, not uncommon on the Murray-sands between the great bend2 & the junction of the Darling-River, we have missed.
The Rev J. Tenison-Woods must have either mixed plants from other colonies with South Austral species, or may have determined species wrongly. Thus Adiantum hispidum3 & Scutellaria mollis are certainly nowhere inmates of S.A., as they do not extend to Tasmania and occur first only in East Gippsland with subtropical coast-plants.
Tetratheca ericifolia would be the oldest name, but the typic plant does not occur in S.A.
Heterodendron oleifolium is Desfontaines's plant, Spergularia rubra is Persoon's, Kennedya monophylla is Ventenats, Echinopogon is Beauvois's.
Of Geijera salicifolia only the desert-form parviflora4 occurs in your territory5
Some of the plants like Picris, Lythrum Hyssopifolia Polycarpon Alchemilla arvensis, Chenop6 glaucum could be eliminated as probably introduced.
Rubus = R. parvifolius
Myrioph = M variifolium
I find Euc.7 dumosa only to be a var8 of Euc. incrassata. A few more Victorian plants, such as Humea squamata are likely to reach across to S.A. Senecio [hypoglaucus]9 is a var. of S. odoratus. Many species are of the younger D.C. = A. de Cand as Wahlenbergia &c
Regardfully your
Ferd von Mueller
Glossodia minor not in S. A.
Anthotroche not Anthrotroche
Eremophila viridiflora.10
Todea is only a section of Osmunda.
Can you kindly spare a few more copies of the Census?
Adiantum hispidum
Alchemilla arvensis
Anthotroche
Anthrotroche
Chenopodium glaucum
Echinopogon
Eremophila viridiflora
Eucalyptus dumosa
Eucalyptus incrassata
Geijera salicifolia var parviflora
Glossodia minor
Heterodendron oleifolium
Humea squamata
Hyssopifolia
Kennedya monophylla
Lythrum
Melothria Muelleri
Myriophyllum variifolium
Osmunda
Picris
Polycarpon
Rubus parvifolius
Scutellaria mollis
Senecio hypoglaucus
Senecio odoratus
Spergularia rubra
Tetratheca ericifolia
Todea
Wahlenbergia
Tate (1880). M's comments on elements of that list are not systematically noted to page numbers in the notes below, except where it is necessary to understand M's text.
The Murray River turns sharply south near Morgan, SA.
Given correctly as Adiantum hispidulum by Tate, p. 89.
Variety name not found; however, the species name G. parviflora, described by Lindley (1848), p. 102, was used by M in B62.03.03, pp. 108-9, and elsewhere, and was listed in B89.12.03, p. 21.
Spergularia, Kennedya and Geijera are each marked with a tick.
Chenopodium.
Eucalyptus.
var is marked with an interlined tick.
Given correctly as Senecio hypoleucus by Tate, p. 73; hypoglaucus and odoratus are each marked with a tick.
Given without a description as E. viridifolia in Tate (1880), p. 79, the name presumably being based on M's E. brownii var viridiflora from Bentham (1863-78), vol. 5, p. 28, which Bentham considered 'almost deserving to be reckoned a distinct species'. See also M to R. Tate, 17 April 1881 (in this edition as 81-04-17b).This entry has been ticked.
Please cite as “FVM-81-02-03,” 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