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From William Woolls to Ferdinand von Mueller   23 June 1882

Richmond1

June 23 /82

My dear Baron

I think that the Boronia which I sent yesterday from Botany,2 is one of those forms which Mr Bentham has reduced to B. polygalifolia (B. tetrathecoides?).3

By the accompanying specimen, you will see, that the leaves are never trifoliate, the flowers are terminal & surrounded by leafy bracts, the sepals are comparatively long not much shorter than the petals, the filaments ciliate below & glandular above, & the anthers not conspiculously apiculate. Leaves somewhat toothed4 The plant is also smaller than the typical B. polygalifolia.

I think you will agree with me in opinion that the plant does not agree with Mr Bentham's description of B. polygalifolia. It may be the B. tetrathecoides of DC, but of this I have no means of judging

The Symphyonema paludosum also came from Botany.

Yours very sincerely

W. Woolls

Boronia polygalifolia

Boronia tetrathecoides

Symphyonema paludosum

1

NSW.

2

NSW. See W. Woolls to M, 22 June 1882 (in this edition as 82-06-22a).

3

Bentham (1863-78), vol. 1, pp. 320-1.

4

Leaves somewhat toothed is a marginal note by Woolls, its intended position in the text marked approximately by an asterisk.

5

MS found with a specimen of Boronia barkeriana (MEL 248921).

Please cite as “FVM-82-06-23a,” 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 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/vonmueller/letters/82-06-23a