Document information

Physical location:

RBG Kew, Kew correspondence, Australia, Mueller, 1858-70, un-numbered letter between f. 55 and f. 56. 62.03.24a

Plant names

Preferred Citation:

Ferdinand von Mueller to Joseph Hooker, 1862-03-24 [62.03.24a]. 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/62-03-24a>, accessed April 6, 2025

1
MS black-edged.
24/3/62
Dear Dr Hooker.
Dr Hector has brought me your note.
2
J. Hooker to M, 3 January 1861.
He seem's a most excellent, promising & zealous investigator of nature, from whom in succession of years we are likely to learn much indeed. I enjoy his acquaintance much. Dr Launder Lindsay
3
Lauder Lindsay?
went home from Sydney without having touched here, a circumstance I much regret. — I have recently looked over
Aurantiaceae

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& find that I have
Glycosmis pentaphylla

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from several parts of East Australia. It fully accords with the Indian plant Mr Black
4
Allan Black.
or rather Dr Planchon is quite right to refer my
Cookia

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to a new genus of
Rutaceae

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(or Z[a]nthoxyleae)
5
M described
Cookia

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australis in B58.06.01, p. 25; no reference to Planchon's opinion has been found. J. Hooker erected the genus Pentaceras, to which he referred M's species, in Bentham & Hooker (1862-83), vol. 1(1), p. 298.
From the enclosed fruit you will observe, that the
Acronychia Cunninghami

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is a true
Euodia

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(subgenus
Melicope

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)
Mr Haast has sent me many plants from New Zealand. I abstain from doing anything with them, as you will be glad to collect supplementary-notes for your N Z flora and as you have the same material yourself. But as an acknowledgement to Haast for having named an alpine torrent after myself near the Hooker River
6
M is probably referring to the river that emerges from the Mueller Glacier at the base of Mt Cook, NZ, rather than the Mueller River near Mt Aspiring that was probably also named by Haast (although no direct evidence of his doing this has been found). The Hooker River is also close to Mt Cook.
I have selected one remarkable ranunculus & put to it Haasts name.
7
Ranunculus haastii was described in J. Hooker (1864-7), part 1, p. 6. There are several Ranunculus collections made by Haast in MEL, but the only three with dates are later than this letter. There is an undated specimen named R. haastii, MEL 2427508, previously named R. lyallii, with a note by M 'sent by me 1859 or 1860 as R hastii to Dr. Hooker'. The most recent determination as R. Haastii is by M, but the AVH record does not give the date of determination. While M's note and determination suggest it is the same species as described under that name, it is not certainly so.
The fragment enclosed is but small. Some of the [radial] leaves, which are always peltate, are as large as those of a good sized
Nelumbium

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!
Mr Fr Gregory told me when passing that he had sent your worthy father a set of his plants. I received also one. Presuming that amidst the masses of new material from Africa & India you do not care to elucidate them, I shall at once commence on them a report, so that Mr Gregory may have it available when going home in a few weeks.
8
Presumably B63.04.03.
He will mark the principle botanic features on the chart.
9
The chart 'Explorations in North-Western Australia: by an expedition sent by the British and local government under the command of F. T. Gregory FRGS, April to November 1861', lithographed 9 May 1862 has comments such as 'high and wooden with small trees', 'stunted Acacia', and 'good grass – melons'; see the National Library of Australia digitised edition http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-231432994 .
I correctly anticipated that Bartlings
Empleurosma

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is a Dodonaea. Sonder identified it with
Dodonaea pinifolia

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!
Ever yours
Ferd Mueller
Is not Brown's
Huegelia

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Myrtaceous?
10
Robert Brown (1773-1858); the geneus was erected and attributed among
Rutaceae

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to Brown's manuscript name in Endlicher (1836-40), p. 1156.
Mr F. Gregory will alter in his report, that his
Adansonia

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is
Brachychiton

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.
11
'
Adansonia

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' is used in F. Gregory (1861), the newspaper version of his report; that name is retained in F. Gregory (1862) p. 428, the version 'communicated by the Colonial Office' to the Royal Geographical Society.