6/5/90.
This day, dear Prof Watson, arrived the new edition of Gray's Manuel,1 which you in conjunction with Prof Coulter and with the aid of local workers have been able to issue. It is a worthy following up of your great preceptor's work in this particular direction. I presume, you will gradually take in the evascular Acotyledoneae also, as you commenced to do with the Jungermanniaceae. You doubtless felt reluctant, to make at once any great change in the systematic arrangement out of piety to Asa Gray, who in his turn was unwilling to depart from the sequence of the orders as reversed merely from Jussieu by D.C.2 — But you will concede, that a natural system cannot be perfect, so long as the Apetaleae are kept by themselves. If we only think of the unnatural position e.g. of Salsolaceae, kept nearly at one end of the Dicotyledoneae, while Caryophylleae are near the other end! The Salsolaceae, as we are all aware, are only less developed Curvembryonatae (or Amyliferae), just as Dodonaea in Sapindaceae, Alchemilla in Rosaceae, Anemone in Ranunculaceae, Glaux in Primulaceae &c &c. Since the last 25 years I have abolished the Monochlamydeae in all my writings as such, and I can use the "Census"3 with far more facility than the "Flora Austral."4 This day I have posted to Prof Coulter the "second Census",5 so that he may see my arrangements, as emanating from the study of Australian plants since 50 years (if I include, what I observed from 1840-1846 on plants of Australia in European gardens.) Perhaps you like to send to your Collaborator this letter, as it may lead you to consultations, whether the change, recommended by me, could be adopted for further editions of the Manual.
Have you a specimen of Buckleya to spare? I have long been eager to examine its structure myself.
Regardfully your
Ferd. von Mueller.
If your aquatic Jussieua has the petals quite yellow it will likely be J. diffusa, as the genuine J. repens has the petals white except the base; that plant has never yet been found in Australia.
Can Hydrocotyle interrupta always be distinguished from H. vulgaris?6
Alchemilla
Amyliferae
Anemone
Apetaleae
Buckleya
Caryophylleae
Curvembryonatae
Dodonaea
Glaux
Hydrocotyle interrupta
Hydrocotyle vulgaris
Jussieua diffusa
Jussieua repens
Monochlamydeae
Primulaceae
Ranunculaceae
Rosaceae
Salsolaceae
Sapindaceae
Please cite as “FVM-90-05-06,” 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