Document information

Physical location:

RB MSS M3, Library, Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne. 62.04.11

Plant names

Preferred Citation:

Joseph Hooker to Ferdinand von Mueller, 1862-04-11. 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/62-04-11>, accessed April 5, 2025

1
MS black-edged.
Kew April 11th/62
My dear Mueller
To day arrived the box of your Herbarium,
2
The first consignment for Bentham's Flora Australiensis was shipped from Melbourne on 26 December 1861 in Young Australia ('Notebook recording despatch of plants for Flora Australiensis', RB, MSS M44, Library, Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne). The ship was reported as passing Deal, Kent on 1 April 1862 (Times, 2 April 1862, p. 11, col e).
which shall be duly attended to & returned safe & sound, with I hope some useful masses of additions from our Herbm.
A few days ago I sent to Pamplin for you the Henslow books,
3
M to J. Hooker, 25 March 1862 (in this edition as 62-03-25c) was accompanied by a list of books that M requested from J. S. Henslow’s library, but the list has not been found. Five items are listed in the library catalogue of the Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne as having a J. S. Henslow provenance.
all but DC. Plantes Grasses,
4
A. P. de Candolle (1798–1837).
which my Father wished for its being a large paper copy. I have told Pamplin to have the loose parts of Ann Sc. Nat:
5
Annales des sciences naturelles? The run of Series 3 of this journal, 1854-63, at MEL has been uniformly bound, while the next series, commencing in 1864, is bound in a different style.
bound at my expense & the volume completed up to the end of the year
Your dissecting knives shall go in a few days — a very few shillings will cover that & I hope you will accept them from me. I had some glovers needles (3 angled) which I find better than knives &c for most purposes.
6
See M to J. Hooker, 22 January 1862 (in this edition as 62-01-22b).
Thanks for your hint about putting
Achlamydeae

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&c &c amongst the
Thalamiflorae

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; but did you ever do so & then try to make a practicable arrangement of the whole — we have tried over & over again & find it utterly impossible so to arrange the order that you can refer your plants to them. We have spent days on this kind of operation — many such schemes look easy on paper or in theory - but when you come to define & describe it is a totally different matter: however we regard Thalamifl. Calycif. & Carollifl. just as artificial as Monochlam &c
7
Thalamiflorae

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,
Calyciflorae

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, Carolliflorae,
Monochlamydeae

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.
We therefore keep all 4, as confessedly artificial groups, but absolutely necessary for practical purposes — it is further quite impossible to distinguish Thalamifl. & Calycifl. — one half the orders that go into Thalamif. are calycifloral — & I am sure
Leguminosae

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&c are not Calicifloral in any sense more than
Malvaceae

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& many others now put into Thalamifl.
8
See Maroske (2006) on differences of opinion and practice on the higher groups of plants between M and the Kew botanists.
Further you may establish a rude parallelism between the 4 groups, which is a convenience. Then too there are very many other practical points that are lost sight of in dealing with local Floras however large but which are fearful to encounter when dealing with the whole Veg. Kindom.
My Father is very poorly as usual in spring with his troublesome skin affliction.
9
See Allan (1867), e.g. p. 212.
Bentham is well — we are desperately busy with Genera Plantarum.
10
Bentham & Hooker (1862-83).
the labor is terrific.
Ever my dear Mueller
most sincerely yr
Jos D Hooker