To William Thiselton-Dyer   22 February 1884

Drouin,¹ 22/2/84

This day, dear Mr Dyer, I received your note conveying the wish of reobtaining a living plant of Ophioglossum pendulum. At once I rendered your desire known to Mr Pink,² who is almost sure to have a Platycerium to spare with an Ophioglossum growing on it; perhaps there may even yet specimens of spontaneous growth yet occur near the Brisbane-River.³ I have begged of him to send the plant to Kew direct.⁴

For the print on sand binding plants I feel much obliged.⁵ All such publications are useful for supplementing the “Select plants” though I rigorously must exclude any species, which is not practically valuable on a commercial scale and not readily manageable. I pick up new data, thus restrained, whenever and wherever I can. The Detroit-Edition, according to letters by the last American mail, was then nearly got through the press.⁶ A presentation copy will go to Kew. Will you kindly ask Sir Joseph, whether I ought to include among fruit-plants the Decaisnea just illustrated in the Bot Mag in the next Edition?⁷

Asa Gray just sent me his printed remarks on A. De C.’s last legislative essay.⁸ He puts the case of Candollea and Stylidium incompletely, omitting that the former Candollea got absorbed in Hibbertia. Then, where is fixity without proper priority; such would be contradictory.⁹

The summer-heat alleviated my pulmonary sufferings. I have just gone with Office-work to a forest-region of Gippsland; there is now some hope of my ultimately recovering.

Regardfully your

Ferd. von Mueller

Hibbertia

Candollea

Stylidium

Decaisnea

Platycerium

Ophioglossum pendulum