From Frederick Bailey to Ferdinand von Mueller   26 Nov 1886

Brisbane

Novr. 26th 1886

Dear Baron

Your kind letters slips and Supplemental pages to the Census (Genera) of Australian plants¹ I have duly received and for this thoughtfulness please accept my best thanks A short time ago I also received from I think the Public Library I suppose by your directions your excellent lithographic monograph of Myoporineae.² any of your works which I receive either direct from you or otherwise from Melbourne I consider as presents to myself not as to my office am I correct, or must I place them in the Library? You see as colonial botanist the Botanical Library is in my charge — for the last 3 years I have had a vote of (£50) fifty pounds to make additions to this library but this year that has been struck off. This fifty pounds was the only money allowed beyond my salary (half that received by Mr Hill³) so you will see that I have much to contend with. — I have no assistance not even an office boy.

At your request I have sent with this all the flowers I had, a pod, and shoot of foliage with a single trijugate leaf, a small piece of the wood, and a piece of the bark of Afzelia australis

You dont say where you received the specimens of A. bijuga from, what part of Queensland? — I have carefully read the original descriptions of A. Grey⁴ which you so kindly sent me also Bakers descriptions⁵ as well as that of Hooker⁶ and although in many respects these descriptions would suit my tree of the Johnstone River,⁷ I have quite a belief that when you see the specimen I have sent, and read the following objections to the Johnstone River tree being A. bijuga of A Grey you will fully agree that they are not one and the same species

All accounts of A. bijuga give it as a moderate sized tree none speak of its attaining over 50 ft. A. australis is a large tree attaining an height of over 100 ft, but a more prominent difference is in the bark, of this "Gamble" Indian timbers alone speaks page 141 of A. bijuga, A Grey thus "A moderate-sized evergreen tree. Bark thin, grey peeling off in fine papery scrolls.⁸ Now the bark of the A. australis is as you will see exfoliates in thick, hard, scale-like patches, in a similar manner to some of the Flindersia's which for this cause are called "Spotted trees". For the specific characters I have written the following for publication

A. australis, sp. nov. (Johnstone River Teak) A lofty tree, attaining an height of over 100 ft. with an erect trunk of over 2 ft diameter; bark covered by rather large lenticellae exfoliating by hard thick oval or oblong patches, similar to some Flindersia's and the red Cedar. Wood very hard and durable, of a reddish-brown. Leaves alternate, glabrous of 2 or 3 pairs of very obtuse nearly orbicular leaflets from 3 to 5 in. long and nearly as broad, very unequal-sided at the base, on petiolules of about ¼ in. The divergent almost parallel veins joining far within the margin and forming an intramarginal one, the netted veinlets numerous and somewhat prominent. Flowers pubescent. Calyx-tube ribbed, about ¼ in. long, lobes very unequal, and much imbricate, slightly longer than the tube, Petal orbicular undulate, veined, on a claw about as long as the calyx-lobes, Stamens hairy, ovary stipitate, flat, the edges tomentose. Pod oblong 6 to 7 in. long and over 2 in. broad glabrous, coriaceous with transverse veins. Seeds dark brown 3 or 4, very flat more or less covered by a mealy substance, oblong or orbicular, about 1¼ in. diameter, the short thick funicle expanding into an oblong appressed aril.⁹

By a mixing of the specimens the log of wood was cut and worked up for the Col. & Ind. Exhibn¹⁰ as Cynometra so you will see an account of the wood of this Afzelia at no 127 in my catalogue of woods¹¹ I was in doubt of this being correct when having the woods worked and it was found to give a dark reddish color to water as is said to be the case with the Cynometra and from this fact I thought it might still be the Cynometra — but this matter has been corrected by further specimens brought now again by Dr Thos L Bancroft from the Johnstone and of the old stump

With reference to its being named under our joint authority (considering yours to be identical with mine) it will be a parallel case with Careya australis FvM Should you still consider the specimen you have as A. bijuga A Grey then we have two species instead of one in Queensland. — By the bye I received specimens the other day from Mr Perry of your Ventilago ecorollata, the fruit however was not ripe or I would have sent you some

Your ever truly

F. M. Bailey

I saw Eaves¹² the other day and told him to look sharp and get the Melaleuca seed for you¹³

Afzelia australis

Afzelia bijuga

Careya australis

Cynometra

Flindersia

Melaleuca

Myoporineae

Ventilago ecorollata