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RBG Kew, Directors' letters, vol. LXXIV, Australia letters 1851-8, letter no. 153. 55.09.03

Plant names

Preferred Citation:

Ferdinand von Mueller to William Hooker, 1855-09-03. R.W. Home, Thomas A. Darragh, A.M. Lucas, Sara Maroske, D.M. Sinkora, J.H. Voigt and Monika Wells (eds), Correspondence of Ferdinand von Mueller, <https://vmcp.rbg.vic.gov.au/id/55-09-03>, accessed November 14, 2024

1
For an edited version of this letter see B56.02.01. The changes in the printed version noted here are those that alter sense, or the spelling of plant and place names. Doubtful transcriptions follow the printed text. Annotations comprising instructions to the printer are not reproduced here. Almost all plant names have been underlined but, as it was not M's usual practice to do so, most of these have been interpreted as editorial markings, and omitted.
On board the "Monarch" 3 Sept. 1855
Sir William.
In a very few days we expect to reach our destination at the Victoria River, and as our attention then will be fully required to disembark our horses sheep and stores and to protect them against the natives I avail myself of a spare evening to adress these lines to you which will reach you via Singapore.
We advanced as far as Clarence Strait
2
NT.
prosperously, except that we grounded on a shoal, partially composed of coral reefs near Port Bynoe,
3
NT.
and we had a particularly agreable voyage through the inner passage along the barrier reefs, so that the horses, on which the success of the expedition depends to such great extent, did suffer less from their long prison, as could be anticipated. The necessity of anchoring for several nights at the more dangerous places on the way to Torres Strait as well as an afternoons stay at Albany Island gave me an opportunity of examining for the first time some of the tropical plants of Australia, and moreover our stay at Moreton Bay, where we received the horses and sheep for the expedition, enabled me also to form some botanical collections in the rich neighbourhood of that place.
With Mr Gregory's consent I have packed up all duplicates and all seeds gathered at these localitites, which will be send to the Colonial Office (London) through the honorable J. Church, Resident Councillor, Singapore. These collections are accompanied by the botanical description of such species as I consider as yet undescribed or wrongly classified, and also by lists of almost all the plants seen (but not always collected) at the respective localities. — The specimens (all in one box) amount to nearly 1000.
4
A. Gregory forwarded M's package of botanical specimens and corresponding descriptive manuscript to the Secretary of State for the Colonies, London on 23 September 1855 (MS Q429, pp. 103-4, Dixson Library, State Library of New South Wales, Sydney). W. Hooker informed the Office of the Secretary of State for the Colonies, London, 12 January 1856, that he had received M's box of specimens: 'They comprise all the plants with notes and remarks upon them collected at the different places visited by the "Monarch" between Sydney and the Mouth of the Victoria River, all in the most excellent condition possible. The collection alone proves the admirable judgement of Sir W. Denison in selecting such a man to be the Botanist of the Expedition. I suppose it would be agreable to Mr Secretary Labouchere, that I publish in the journals some general notice of the nature and extent of the collections, and of the services thereby rendered to the country and to science by this department of the Expedition. I am sure Mueller's services will be of the highest consequence.' Labouchere transmitted a copy of Hooker's letter to Gregory on 21 January 1856 (The National Archives, London, CO 201/496; MS Q426, Dixson Library, State Library of New South Wales, Sydney).
Since I am however now of course destitute of any means of comparison and as I am even for want of room very [un]sufficiently provided with Books I must crave your indulgence with regard to some of the names of the plants adopted. Indeed I deem it under these circumstances requisite, that an English Botanist should compare the plants which I send with your herbarium previous to their publication. And I would beg to propose that the diligent and learned Mr Kippist should be entrusted with this burdensome task, should he feel inclined to grant it, and I should also feel but too happy to share with him the authorship as a recompense for his participation in this labour. These bot. sending will no doubt be forwarded to you by the Government.
5
And I would … Government deleted. W. Hooker may have made the deletion, but if so he did it with unusually heavy scoring.
The manuscripts dwell upon the following plants: viz: Dennisonia nobil[is,]
Nephelium tomentosum

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,
Nephelium edentulum

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,
Geijera multiflora

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,
Cocculus Hookerianus

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,
Polanisia insularis

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,
Abutilon acutatum

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,
Sida dictyocarpa

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,
Euphorbia oraria

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,
Phyllanthus gracillimus

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, Psoralina
6
Psoralea?
prostrata,
Brachycome microcarpa

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,
Lagenophora pachyrrhiza

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,
Soliva acaulis

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,
Monenteles gnaphaloides

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,
Helichrysum oxylepis

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,
Kippistia riparia

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,
Glycycocca tiliifolia

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,
Mitrasacme scabra

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&
Cassyta cuscutiformis

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.
7
The following are herbarium names: Dennisonia noblis, see the Dublin specimen, Harpullia sp., TCD 14099, collected by M at the Brisbane River;
Geijera multiflora

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, Brisbane River, TCD 13522; a specimen at Kew, K 373286, is labelled Monenteles without a specific epithet, collected by M at the Fitzmaurice River and evidently used by Bentham (1863-78), vol. 3, p. 523, in describing M. verbascifolius ; TCD 14051 is a specimen labelled Nephelium without a specific epiphet from the Brisbane River; there are specimens labelled Psoralea without a specific epithet from the Victoria River at TCD 15621 and from Sturt Creek at K 858883. A specimen of Aplotaxis australasica at Kew, K. 792059 has a note by M:
Aplotaxis! australasica | n. sp. | I made a sad mistake in calling this plant in the other collection
Kippistia riparia

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, confounding it by bad memory with the plant from the Brisbane River, which is a n.g. = Kippistia.
The names
Nephelium edentulum

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,
Polanisia insularis

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,
Abutilon acutatum

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, Psoralina [Psoralea?] prostrata,
Monenteles gnaphaloides

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and Mitrasacme scabra have not been found other than in the printed version of this letter, B56.02.01, p. 47.
—
Above all I am very anxious to see the sapindaceous genus Dennisonia confirmed, as it may be a species only of some of Blume's additional genera of that order, not inserted in Endlicher's genera.
8
Endlicher (1836-40). M erected Dennisonia (D. ternifolia) based on collections made in 1856 (B59.02.02).
If you deemed the publication of these manuscripts necessary or desirable, it might also give a favourable opportunity of bringing some other allied new species under notice from my unpublished former manuscripts, for instance
Cocculus Harveyanus

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,
9
The name on M's labels on K 644647, K 644648 and TCD 9844, all filed as Sarcopetalum harveyanum, the name given by M in B62.03.03, p. 27. See M to. W. Harvey, 17 August 1859.
&c &c
It may not be quite uninteresting to sketch faintly the vegetation on which I had lately a passing glance; for altho' with few exceptions the plants alluded to in the index are no doubt long ago collected by the late Allan Cunningham still only a limited number had been brought by him under notice, and even where I enumerated plants common at Port Jackson, it must be deserving of remark, which of these advance to subtropical or even tropical latitudes. But this sketch could hardly be extended beyond the bare enumeration, and if I am at all entitled to venture any remarks on such limited material, they must not be viewed as conclusive. For even at Moreton Bay the briefness of our stay rendered it impossible to extend my botanical excursions beyond a few miles from the Brisbane River, — and it is but justice to state, that through Mr Hill's
10
Walter Hill.
local knowledge I was enabled to add many a plant to the collection, which otherwise in such a flying visit might have escaped my notice.
On the mainland altho' not yet falling exactly within the circle of Capricorn the tropic[al] forms outnumbered far the rest, and in the shady ravines full of humidity disappeared almost entirely the characteristic vegetation of the more southern parallels of Australia. One of the most striking facts appeared to me to be the scantiness of the
Compositae

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which form here like in the tropical isle[s] afterwards visited but an exceedingly small proportion of the vegetation. The genera Soliva and
Spilanthes

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appear new to Australia.
Sapindaceae

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and
Euphorbiaceae

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are increasing as might be expected, but
Epacrideae

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I saw only represented through a species of
Leucopogon

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and
Acrotriche

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, and
Proteaceae

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by
Grevillea robusta

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and a
Banksia

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.
Orchideae

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comprehend many terrestrial ones from the south, whilst under the influence of the genial climate also the parasitical species occur and form a prominent feature in the vegetation Along with them the single forms of
Platycerium grande

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, the numerous lianas,
Calladium

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&c &c impart a luxuriance and grandeur to the scenery unusual in Australia. Mosses and Lichens are vastly on the decrease, and were almost wanting in the isles towards Torres Strait, which promises but a very poor harvest of them on the North Coast,
The dry sandy ridges and the swamps of Moreton Island produce in the contrary a vegetation almost alike to that of Port Jackson, as may be observed in the enumeration, which I prepared,
11
A separate list has not been found.
still Pandanus
Spermacoce

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,
Bruguiera

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,
Mucuna

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,
12
Bruguiera

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,
Mucuna

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is a marginal annotation in the MS.
Canavallia

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,
Vigna

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,
Dioscorea

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&c remind of the tropics.
Epacrideae

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are particularly numerous,
Tremandreae

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wanting.
The vegetation of the Islands which we visited on our way to Torres Strait (Isles off Cape Bedford, Howick's Group, Cairncross Island, Albany Island) exhibits mostly plants identical with species from India, or the South Sea Islands,
Tribulus

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appears to be identical with the desert species from the Murray and Darling. Sesuvium[,]
13
editorial addition.
Polycarpaea

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14
Polycarpaea

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is a marginal annotation in the MS with its position in the text indicated by *.
and Polanisia I find unnoticed amongst Australian Genera, and Glycycocca,
15
Not found in APNI (accessed 7 September 2019); the specimen of Premna glycycocca at Kew, K1067678, has M's label 'Premna tul[ii]folia | Ferd. Mueller. | (Glycycocca) | Howicks Group | Ferd Mueller'. M collected on an island of the Howick Group (off Qld coast, north of Cooktown) on 22 August 1855 (A. Gregory (1858)).
intermediate between
Wallrothia

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and Vitex, is altogether new and not unworthy of notice on account of its pleasant fruits. Unfortunately only an unic. specimen was found of it.
Mimusops Kauki

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is another fruit plant from these localities and occurs abundantly; in perfect maturity the fruit looses its adstringency and is then by no means to be despised.
Araucaria

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was discernible on many of the islands which we passed but like
Callitris

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observed on none of those on which we landed. —
On Albany Island a single proteaceous plant was observed, namely
Grevillea gibbosa

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forming a tall bush or a very small tree, resembling in its dull grey foliage certain Eucalypti.
Wahlenbergia gracilis

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was here also growing, and perhaps other herbaceous plants common in extratropical Australia would likewise been noticed in a more favourable season.
But of the most interesting points for plants yet unexplored in Eastern Australia we had only a view, but this view close enough to be tantalizing. I allude to the high bold ranges which approach here and there on the tropical eastern coast to the sea, as Mount Hinchinbrook (3500' high) Mount Bellenden Ker, and Cape Tribulation. In one glance we could see displayed before us favourable landing places, spurs for easy ascent,
16
printed version has descent.
richly wooded groves with a varied tint of vegetation, and if I add to this the information gleaned from Mr Carron's narrative
17
Probably Carron (1849).
on the low land flora, who discovered here abouts in the unfortunate Kennedy's expedition a pitcher-plant, a
Musa

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,
Anacardium

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&c, — it is then unnecessary to speak of my ardent desire to return once to localities so promising for the enlargement of our favourite Science.
Our main labours are now soon to commence, and we will be banished from civilized society for a long period, I trust that we shall be able to retain strenght in the hot enervating climate, so as to gain the great results expected from this expedition, results which will probably be conclusive to the whole geography of Australia; and we are happy that the choice fell fortunately upon Mr Gregory as our leader, whose tried ability and pleasing serene manners can not fail to inspire all equally with confidence and devotion.
Should the botanical results to be gained during this journey be but proportionately small, which is very possible considering the nature of the expedition and the probable absence of high ranges in Central Australia —, I shall then not apply for extent of my leave of absence, to sail after our return to England, but shall rather continue my labours in some part of Australia, provided the Colonial Government will again supply limited subsidia for that purpose, and I should also be glad to quit then Victoria, unless I am unrestricted to the boundaries of that colony.
18
and I should … of that colony omitted in printed version.
— But if the Flora of the interior should prove so rich, as to answer to my sanguine expectations, and if the means of transport will admit of my collecting all the species occuring there, and above all if providence grants me life and health for this work — then I shall be greatly cheered in my home journey to Europe by the anticipation of the pleasure of paying you personally my respect and gaining so much information at your magnificent establishment.
But if I am not destined to return from this perilous enterprise, then I use, Sir William, this last opportunity of thanking you for all the kindness and support, which I hitherto experienced from you and which will never sink in oblivion during my life. I have given orders, as I wrote from Moreton Bay,
19
M to W. Hooker, 22 July 1855 (the published extract of which omits the specific bequest to J. Hooker).
that in case of my death the whole of my private herbarium comprising at least 15,000 sp. and 50,000 specimens of plants shall be bequeathed to Dr. Jos. Hooker.
Receive then, Sir William, once more my best wishes for your welfare.
Ferd. Mueller
Sir Will. Hooker, K.H.
&c &c &c
20
But if I am not … &c &c &c omitted from printed version.
P.S. I observe that I omitted in the list
Aegialitis annulata

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, which occurs on Howicks Group.
Sonchus oleraceus

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and S. asper are if I right remember reunited in the Flora of New Zealand. I beg to point out besides the constant differences in the fruit, shape and size of the leaves, the difference in the internal structure of the stem.
21
P.S. I observe … of the stem. is a marginal note in the MS. It appears at the end of the letter in the printed version.
Since I wrote this letter the gentlemen of the schooner landed under Mr Gregory at Quaill Island where a few plants were obtained. They were the following:
Pandanus spiralis

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,
Spinifex fragilis

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,
Eucalyptus

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sp.
Ficus

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Sp.
Polycarpaea

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sp.
Rottlera

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sp.
Jasminium divaricatum

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,
Cassytha

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sp.
Tacca pinnatifida

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,
Menispermum

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sp.? a beautiful broadleaved
Loranthus

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, a prostrate Sida with very short pedicels, and what I consider to be a new species of
Chrysobalaneae

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(
Basistylis

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).
22
Basistylis

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not in APNI (accessed 7 September 2019).
There appears also to be at that place to judge from a few fragments a new genus of
Polygoneae

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, but I am quite uncertain having seen neither leaves nor fruit. In the box with specimens forwarded to the Right Hon. the Secr. of State for the Colonies you will find a cucurbitac. plant[s] named
Sicyos Cunninghami

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. Since then I had time to analyze it and observed it to belong together with a second sp. to the genus Zehneria. Neither of them agrees exactly with the general character in Endl. gen.
23
Endlicher (1836-40).
and I have ventured consequently to describe both as distinct from the Norfolk Island plants. The other manuscripts are already packed up, so that I extract the diagnoses, in case you would be inclined to give them publication with the rest.
24
See B56.02.02, pp. 50-1.
Zehneria Cunninghami

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Sicyos sp. Cunningh msc.?
ramis gracilibus, foliis indivisis deltoideo — vel sagittato-hastatis acuminatis repandis denticulatis mucronulatis, floribus monoicis utriusque sexus in axi saepissime geminato conjuncto longe setaceo-pedunculatis, masculis triandris, femineis stamina sterilia producentibus, stigmatis tripartiti lobis sursum dilatatis revolutis, baccis subglobosis, seminibus compressis nigrescentibus basi obtusis margine leviter incrassatis.
In nemoribus secus flumen Brisbane, nec non in insulis sinus Moreton Bay.
Herba Sicyos angulati facie nisi gracilior.
Zehneria erythrocarpa

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Foliis palmato-quinquelobis vel trilobis, laciniis oblique lanceolatis acuminatis mucronulatis margine denticulatis, medio laciniarum basi angustata, floribus monoicis axillaribus fasciculatis breviter pedunculatis, masculis triandris, femineis stamina sterilia producentibus, stigmatis tripartiti lobis subcordatis reflexis, baccis magnis subovatus rubris, seminibus turgidis margine crasso cinctis.
Antecedenti consociata
Herba praeeunte robustior. Folia pleraque 2-3" longa. Flores masculi paene semiunciales faemineis paulo majores. Fructus fere pollicares, interdum vitellini, saepius laetissime rubri, longitudinaliter albo-vittati.
Anthesis utriusque speciei sub hoc coelo perpetua.
There is amongst the plants forwarded to the Government a new genus allied to Euphorbia, which is furnished at the limb of the involucre instead of scaly bracteoles with tender white petals! or if you like bracteoles. I selected the name
Petalandra

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for the Genus.
19 Sept. 1855
Tomorrow I shall leave in all probability the Monarch and I close therefore this letter. Mr Gregory will perhaps by an other way than through the hand of the Consul General of Singapore forward the specimens; he has not yet decided upon this point. On the entrance of the Victoria River are a few plants collected. I enumerate those with which I am more or less acquainted;
Sporobolus Indicus

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, Jasminum divaricatum,
Sesbania Australis

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,
Aegialitis annulata

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,
Rhizophora Mangle

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,
Pandanus spiralis

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, Scaevola Koenig[ii]
25
editorial addition — obscured by binding.
Cycas media

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,
Vitex ovata

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,
Vitex triphylla

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(V. glabrata prox.)
Melaleuca

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Sp. Eucal. Sp. Grevillea Sp.
Hakea

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sp. Perso[onia] sp.
Acacia

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sp
Monencyanthes gnaphaloides

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,
Ficus

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sp.
Salicornia Indica

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,
Cressa cretica

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,
Careya

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,
Pavetta

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sp.
Asparagus fasciculatus

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,
Aegiceras fragrans

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,
Hemistemma dealbatum

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,
Flagellaria Indica

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, a sp. of Dimetopia in which only one mericarp is developed (D. hemicarpa)
Eriachne

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sp. But this is the autumn and consequently very few plants are to be observed in flower.
26
It was in fact 'spring', but in this part of Australia seasonality is marked by monsoons and dry periods.
I remain, Sir William, your ever obliged Servant
Ferd Mueller.