23/10/91
I look forward with great pleasure, dear Prof. Tate, to my visit soon to Sir Thomas Elder and other S.A. friends, but I may not be able to come before December.1
The information about extensive plant-collections, formed during Sir Th Elders Expedition, came to me indirectly. We will be easy able, to arrange about our joint work on these plants, when they arrive, as Sir Thomas expressed already long ago a wish, that a share of the collections should go to Victoria
The large majority of the species will be well known to both of us, so that they can at once be absolved at a mere glance. The remainder can then be taken up by us, in what might be most convenient to you and me at the time. You will doubtless have much of geologic specimens also to examine.
Whatever the final arrangement will be, let us work up the novelties (probably not numerous) conjointly.2 Trusting soon to see you personally your
Ferd. von Mueller
Mr Eckert just sent some stray supplemental specimens from the lower Glenelg-country.3 Thus Scleranthus biflorus is new for SA. Like Gentiana saxosa it is a stray-plant there from its highland home.
My stay in SA can at best be but brief
Scleranthus biflorus
Gentiana saxosa
Writing from Scotland, Thomas Elder had offered to finance an exploring expedition (T. Elder to M, 2 July 1890). He did not return to Adelaide until 5 March 1891. M did not visit Adelaide in 1891 but visited there very briefly on 19-20 January 1892.
A report by M and Tate on the plants collected during the Elder Scientific Exploring Expedition, 1891-2, was presented by Tate at the meeting of the Royal Society of SA on 6 December 1892. Page proofs were prepared but these were not published for want of financial support (see Lucas (2018), p. 618). However, an equivalent report did appear in Botanisches Centralblatt (see B93.14.07).
SA.
Please cite as “FVM-91-10-23,” 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