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RBG Kew, Kew correspondence, Australia, Mueller, 1858-70, ff. 49-52. 62.01.24

Plant names

Preferred Citation:

Ferdinand von Mueller to George Bentham, 1862-01-24. 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/62-01-24>, accessed April 5, 2025

Melbourne bot & zool. Garden
24 Jan. 62.
My dear Mr Bentham.
I am highly gratified with your very kind communication received by last mail and the interesting remarks on Australian Botany, which your letter embodies.
1
G. Bentham to M, 16 November 1861.
Eight years ago I wrote very fully my views on the form of an Australian Flora to our venerable friend Sir Will. Hooker, and I have little to alter in my opinion of what form would be the most advisable, except that I then recommended that New Zealand should be included.
2
A full plan has not been found. M to W. Hooker, 28 April 1854 implies that a plan had been sent earlier than that date. The most relevant surviving letter is M to W. Hooker, 3 February 1853, but that letter does not mention New Zealand.
The tree vegetation however characterizes a country more fully as regards its botanical features than any other portion of its vegetation, and hence we can under the almost total absence of identical trees in New Zealand & New Holland certainly not combine their flora, altho' much of the frutescent and herbaceous vegetation is identical.
Your Hong Kong flora
3
Bentham (1861a).
is a model for the new work you propose to crown your labors with. If I am allowed to suggest any alterations, I would recommend the separation of measurements from diagnostic remarks. In reference to your wish of suggesting the best manner in which each colony could be noticed under the species, I would draw your attention to the plan, adopted by Koch in his Synops. Fl. Germ. & Helvet.,
4
W. Koch (1843-5).
for distinguishing by adding to the descriptions the letters B. G. I & H., to indicate, whether a plant was growing in Prussia, Universal Germany, Istria or Helvetia. Perhaps T. might indicate Tasmania, V. Victoria, N.S.W., New South Wales, QL. Queensland, S.A. South Australia, W.A. West Australia, as colonies or colonial territories, to which significations might be added C.A. for Central Australia and N.A. for North Australia.
Your remarks on the limits of the genera o[f] Australian
Dilleniaceae

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interest me much. I fear however that notwithstanding your reductions the genera will still remain very artificial. But on genera phytologists will be always entertaining varied opinions, on species we should not! — You will receive soon after the arrival of this letter my series of
Dilleniaceae

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, the examination of which will probably induce you to modify your views still in some points. There are for instance coast varieties of
Pleurandra ovata

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with completely monadelphous stamens. If the position of the staminodia in any of the genera [&] species should prove constant, it would be doubly interesting, because we could not anticipate them being so in an order with indefinite stamens . Otherwise it is in the orders with definite stamens, such as
Rutaceae

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, in which the staminodia have number & position & function precisely assigned to them.
Mollugineae

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seem to me an other example of how little can be relied on the position of staminodia unless in genera with fixed number of stamens. Speaking here especially of
Glinus

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you as the recent author of the order,
5
Bentham (1862) pp. 75-7. (Read 6 June 1861, issued as publication 1 March 1862. M had presumably received a proof copy.)
will perhaps be interested in my remarks divulged in the plants of Victoria.
6
See B62.03.03, p. 202.
I find for instance no spiral embryo in that genus and that the "circumflexed funicles" are no funicles but processes (altho arising from the funiclar cord) belonging to the strophiole. The discovery of a new
Glinus

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here you will no doubt regard as an interesting one.
7
Presumably
Glinus

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orygoides (B62.02.01, p. 203).
I will gladly prepare as you suggest all the material for
Eucalyptus

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. If no unforeseen hindrances arise I shall employ our artist
8
At this time M was using F. Schönfeld as his artist. Schönfeld prepared the plates for M's Plants indigenous to the colony of Victoria, including plates of
Eucalyptus

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globulus and E. odorata. However, most of the work for Eucalyptographia, published in 10 Decades [i.e. 100 plates], 1879-84, was done by R. Austen and E. Todt.
for the next two years principly in furnishing the plates (in large folio) of the Eucalypti for my monograph, probably 100 plates. These trees become, as you will see by products & educts at the Exhibition now of such vast importance to the manufactures in this country.
That I have sent the Apocarpous
Thalamiflorae

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and
Rhoeadeae

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you will observe by the enclosed bill of loading. The
Parietinae

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,
Sapindinae

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, and possibly also the
Rutinae

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will follow by the "Great Britain" or one of the next ships and the rest of the
Thalamiflorae

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in two consignments soon afterwards.
Unfortunately I can send not yet by this mail the first vol of "the plants of Victoria"
9
B62.03.03.
as the printer has not completed the last sheets It will be 220 pages & 22 plates. The 2. vol of the Fragmenta
10
Completed with B61.11.04.
is since weeks in the binders hands, but is also not yet ready for distribution, but both will certainly be sent by next mail.
Meanwhile I have sent all the ready sheets to Sir Will. Hooker.
Your classification of the curvembryonate plants, as enunciated in Lindleys Gardeners Chronicle
11
The report of the meeting of the Linnean Society held on 6 June 1861 (Gardeners' chronicle and agricultural gazette, 15 June 1861, p. 554) contains a summary of Bentham's paper read at the meeting, later formally published as Bentham (1862).
has my perfect concurrence, except that I regard
Mollugineae

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inseparable from
Thalamiflorae

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, also
Phytolacceae

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. And should even only one member of the
Paronychieae

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(
Corrigiola

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) be petaliferous it would be for me sufficient reason for asigning to that order a place in the
Calyciflorae

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. But it would undoubtedly be a good work, if with exception of
Amentaceae

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Cycadeae

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&
Coniferae

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all the
Monochlamydeae

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of DC (or the apetalous
Dicotyledonae

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of Jussieu) were distributed over the petaliferous divisions of the system, whereby the most artificial portion of Candolles & Jussieus classification would be render natural. — We would then have
Salsolaceae

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,
Polygoneae

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,
Amaranthaceae

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Nycta[gin]eae next to
Portulaceae

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and
Ficoideae

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in
Calyciflorae

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&c &c. Such a rearrangement has engaged my thoughts since many years & I beg to recommend it to your & Dr Hookers superior consideration for the Genera plantarum [.] How
Euphorbiaceae

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,
Laurineae

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&c &c, which are so highly developed plants, can rank near
Coniferae

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&
Cupuliferae

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has been always to me an enigma. Have I been right in referring
Stylobasium

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to
Phytolacceae

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? Would it not be well to arrange the orders under Classes in the Australian flora? it seems to me to facilitate vastly the glance over the whole orders. I do not know whether I mentioned, as I intended, that if I could be favored with proof sheets of the genera plantarum and the Austr. flora, I will gladly give my humble aid in adding & suggesting alterations for supplements. Did you in revising
Phytolacceae

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observe, that Prof Moquin, whom I however regard as a very acute & generally reliable observer, has been misled by probably wrong-matched specimens in describing the flowers of
Gyrostemon ramulosus

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as those of
Tersonia

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? the latter having uniseriate stamens, like
Didymotheca

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(
Cyclotheca

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) and
Codonocarpus

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!
Gyrostemon cotinifolius

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is a true
Codonocarpus

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; as Endlicher suspected.
I shall furnish you in the future sendings with more manuscript notes as hereto before, as there will be more unworked plants amongst them.
I have just to go through my annual report. When that done & the 1 vol of flora of Vict. seen through, which will be in about 2 weeks, I shall be free for regular work for you.
Looking forward with much delight to your future regular correspondence
I remain, your attached
Ferd Mueller
12
See also G. Bentham to M, 24 March 1862.