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From Ferdinand von Mueller to Joseph Hooker   9 Apr 1895

9/4/95.

There is a sort of moral obligation, dear Sir Joseph, to point out errors, even if trifling, in your great Kew-Index. Acacia tortilis is not in the 9th but in the 10th vol. Hayne figured.1 Are A. retinoides and A neriifolia really identical. The first I know as a wild plant since 1847. It is a more southern species than A Neriifolia and it is [ever]flowering, the only Acacia which has that character as far as I am aware in Australia. The differences, pointed out by Bentham,2 hold probably good; but in herbaria easily confusion may arise between the two, particularly from mere flowering specimens. I found the f[unicle]3 one of the best distinctions in Acacia. I will reexamine my now much increased Material here.

Always regardfully your

Ferd von Mueller

Acacia neriifolia

Acacia retinoides

Acacia tortilis

1

M is correcting the entry in Index kewensis (B. Jackson (1895)), vol. 1, p. 13 (issued 1893); Hayne (1805-37), vol. 10, tab. 31.

2

Bentham (1863-78), vol. 2, p. 363.

3

Partly obscured by binding.

Please cite as “FVM-95-04-09,” 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 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/vonmueller/letters/95-04-09