1/6/83
I was greatly delighted, dear Sir Joseph, to receive by last mail the finishing part of your and Bentham's opus magnum,1 and beg both of you to be felicitated on the glorious conclusion of such a grand and labourious undertaking. The whole botanic world will benefit from these three great volumes for all times, and I hope you and your venerable collaborator will place all of us under still deeper obligation by presenting us hereafter with a supplemental volume, especially as the Thalamiflorae appeared already 20 years ago. Perhaps then, for facility's sake, you will be so good to give us one universal Index also2
Evascular plants and ferns are mostly as regards genera now also fairly defined. Could therefore the leading Cryptogamists of Europe unite to give us the genera of Acotyledoneae also in conformity with your work?
In glancing over vol. III p. II I made a few hurried notes which I just copy, as I may not live very long, and so it will be best to forward them at once, without however any wish of mine to be intrusive. I subscribed to the genera for my private library, so got from Dulau the concluding part also, the presentation copy being placed in the departmental library with best thanks.
Regardfully your
Ferd. von Mueller.
Of Halophila spinulosa I got at last one single male flower, which proves it truely congeneric! I was the first to transfer the genus to Hydrocharideae.
Microstylis, Eria, Calanthe, Luisia, have all one genuine Australian species, Cymbidium 4, Caleana 4. — Cryptostylis and Corysanthes I have shown to occur in Samoa!3 Guillainia has one species in the New Hebrides. See Campbell’s little work.4
What has become of the two Australian species of Chlorophytum? Are they now placed in Anthericum?5 Herpolirion like all other alpine Australian plants occurs on the Mt Kosciusko Range in N.S. Wales.
Trithrinax includes the Cocos campestris according to Drude, occurs therefore far down in Argentina. See the Sydney [&] German editions of my "select plants".6
Lodicea7 differs from Borassus in its marvellous footing ! 8
Pandanus and Freycinetia become extratropical in Australia
Pistia occurs in New Guinea
Amphibolis is a true Cymodocea, as you will see in the Census.9 Unfortunately I matched originally the fruit (loose drifted ashore) of your Posidonia with it;10 but later I got once the small fruits of the true C. zosterifolia; it is burried in the leafsheets thus easily overlooked; it is quite normal for Cymodocea.
Wolffia occurs in S. Austr, Vict. and N.S.W.
Cymodocea isotifolia11 occurs as far S. as Champion Bay (extratropical)
Dactylis caespitosa described by Forsters. — Imperata arundinacea, indig. in Tasm, as correctly stated already by RBr.
Pentapogon has a wide range through extratropic Australia
Elythrophorus is far extratropical in the Murray-region. —Micraira tropical [also]
Triraphis microdon is a true Triodia (vide Census)
Centotheca, tropic Australia
part 1 of vol. III
Strangea is a good genus; the testa differs much from that of any Grevillea &c
Saxegothaea. It was unfortunate that Lindley did not call it Saxonogothaea. Prince Albert as a classic scholar must have felt this.12
Muehlenbeckia platyclada received its name from me.13
Nuytsia has quite the habit and appearance of an arboreous Grevillea
The operculate anthers of Laurineae occur also in Gyrocarpus.
Piperaceae extend to N.Z.
Telopea oreades seems to me quite distinct
Quercus. I have acorns of 2 New Guinea species
Embothrium is represented in Queensland by a genuine species
Pinus one species transgressing the equator in the [Sunda] islands.
Ginkgo, leaves deciduous.
Acotyledoneae
Amphibolis
Anthericum
Borassus
Calanthe
Caleana
Centotheca
Chlorophytum
Cocos campestris
Corysanthes
Cryptostylis
Cymbidium
Cymodocea isotifolia
Cymodocea zosterifolia
Dactylis caespitosa
Elythrophorus
Embothrium
Eria
Freycinetia
Ginkgo
Grevillea
Guillainia
Halophila spinulosa
Herpolirion
Hydrocharideae
Imperata arundinacea
Laurineae
Lodicea
Luisia
Micraira
Microstylis
Muehlenbeckia platyclada
Nuytsia
Pandanus
Pentapogon
Pinus
Piperaceae
Pistia
Posidonia
Quercus
Saxegothaea
Strangea
Telopea oreades
Thalamiflorae
Triodia
Triraphis microdon
Trithrinax
Wolffia
Please cite as “FVM-83-06-01,” 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 2 May 2024, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/vonmueller/letters/83-06-01