Colonial Botanists Office
William Street
Brisbane
April 7th 1890
My dear Baron
So far as I am able to make out; the Sedge no […]1 is a new species of Scleria, and I purpose describing it under the name of S. ustulata or something similar on account of the scorched appearance of the spikelets. I only met with it on the Bellenden Ker Range at an altitude of 4-to-5,000 ft. but it is evidently identical with one which was sent to me by a correspondent on the Tweed River2 some 5 to 6 years ago — but as you know I only wish to attend to the Queensland flora I took no steps to describe it as a new species at the time. Even, now, you my3 think me presumptuous to name a fresh species of a genus containing over one hundred species when not half of these have I4 description however our plants must be named even at the risk of now and again a mistake being made you will I am sure agree with me thus far.
My friend Dr Chas. Prentice points out to me that the new Dimeria glabrescens had better be changed to D. glabiuscula which I shall do. I am much afraid that several of the large fruit bearing trees of the district will have to waite determination until I receive flowering specimens. when I forwarded specimens of them to you I was in hopes that your collector Sayers5 might have furnished you with the flowering portions, in going over them if I can make them out however I will at once let you know as now the results.
yours very truly
F. M. Bailey
Inclosed find Sample of the Southern Plant
F.M.B.
Dimeria glabrescens
Dimeria glabiuscula
Scleria ustulata
Space left blank in MS.
i. e. Mr T. Steel, who is listed as the collector on the labels on the specimen from the Tweed River, BRI-AQ341588.
may?
a?
W.A. Sayer.
MS found with a specimen of Exocarya sclerioides (MEL 2199564). Attached to the sheet are a later Queensland Herbarium label 'Exocarya sclerioides Benth | Co-type of Scleria ustulata F. M Bailey', and Bailey's note 'Inclosed find Sample of the Southern Plant F.M.B.'. Bailey described it as Scleria ustulata in Bailey (1890), p. 81.
MS annotations by M: 'Answ 14/6/90' [letter not found] and 'Exocarya scleroides, Bentham’.
Please cite as “FVM-90-04-07,” 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