The correspondence of Ferdinand von Mueller: Melbourne, Botanic Garden, ¶ 26 June 1864. ¶ ¶ Unless unforeseen obstacles get in the way, revered Professor, I shall dispatch a case to Dr Sonder in Hamburg (via London) by the ship ¶ Suffolk ¶ an...

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Physical location:

Eduard Fenzl Nachlass, Archiv der Universität Wien, Vienna. 64.06.26a

Plant names

Ardisia
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Euonymus
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Hedera
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Hemicyclia
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Musa banksii
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Musa troglodytarum
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Pazualsia
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Timonius
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Preferred Citation:

Ferdinand von Mueller to Eduard Fenzl, 1864-06-26 [64.06.26a]. 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/64-06-26a>, accessed September 11, 2025

Melbourne im bot. Garten,

am 26. Juni 64.

Wenn nicht, hochverehrter Herr Professor, unvorhergesehene Hindernisse in den Weg treten, werde ich in nächster Woche mit dem Schiffe Suffolk eine Kiste an Herrn Dr Sonder in Hamburg (via London) befördern u Ihnen wieder einige Pflanzen u. Herrn Professor Haidinger einige recht hübsche Fossilien aus der Tertiär-Formation des Murray-Beckens zu senden. Es liegen ebenfalls einige Bücher für Ihre freundlichen Museen zur Absendung bereit, sowie ein Packet Samen von unserer letzten Erndte.

Mein Sammler in Nord-Ost-Australien wird hoffentlich Manches Hübsche u Wichtige aus den unerforschten Berg- u Jungle-Wäldern dort allgemach zusammen bringen, obschon der wilde u mordsüchtige Widerstand der Eingeborenen stets zu bekämpfen ist u den Sammler immerfort den grössten Gefahren blossstellt. Inzwischen habe ich jedoch , , , Musa, , , u mehrere neue Gattungen von daher in der Flora Australiens nachgewiesen. Musa war mir am interessantesten, die Banks wie Endlicher nachwies, selbige schon vor fast 100 Jahren sammelte. Ich habe die Art welche sich durch trockne Früchte an merkwürdig langen Stielen auszeichnet daher auch Musa Banksii genannt u glaube dass es eben diese Frucht ist, welche Gärtner aus Banks's Sammlung abbildete, irrig selbige zu ziehend.

Hoffentlich ist meine kleine Sendung Holzexemplare in Buchform richtig bei Ihnen angekommen. Es thut mir wahrhaft leid, dass meine Musse es mir nicht erlaubt Ihnen so gute u grosse Sammlungen herzustellen als ich innig wünsche, doch soll mein Tribut periodisch unterhalten werden. Augenblicklich arbeite ich an einem Werkchen über die Pflanzen der Chatham Inseln, von welchen ich etwa 150 spec. besitze (inclus. Acotyled), die aber fast ausschliesslich mit denen von Neu Seeland identisch sind.

Treuherzig der Ihre

Ferd Mueller

Melbourne, Botanic Garden,

26 June 1864.

Unless unforeseen obstacles get in the way, revered Professor, I shall dispatch a case to Dr Sonder in Hamburg (via London) by the ship Suffolk and send again some plants to you, and for Professor Haidinger a few very nice fossils from the tertiary formations of the Murray basin. A few books for your kind museums are also lying in readiness to be sent, as well as a packet of seeds from our last harvest.

My collector in north-eastern Australia

John Dallachy. M also credited Anthelme Thozet and Eugene Fitzalan with collections from the same area at this time.

will, I hope, gradually gather together much that is beautiful and important from the unexplored mountain and jungle forests there, although one always has to fight against the murderous resistance of the natives, which constantly exposes the collector to the greatest dangers. Meanwhile I have, however, ascertained , , , Musa, , ,

Pouzolsia? See B64.02.01, p. 87.

, and several new genera from there for the Australian flora. Musa was the most interesting to me, it had been collected already by Banks nearly 100 years ago, as shown by Endlicher.

Endlicher (1833), p. 35.

For this reason I named the species, distinguished by dry fruit on strange long peduncles, ,

B64.06.01, pp. 132-4.

and I believe it is this particular fruit that was illustrated by Gärtner from the Banksian collection, placed mistakenly under .

J. Gaertner (1787-91), vol. 1, pp. 29-30, and Plate 11.

I hope my small transmission of timber samples in book form has arrived safely.

Sent probably by the Great Britain at the end of January; see M to E. Fenzl, 25 January 1864 (in this edition as 64-01-25c).

I am truly sorry that my spare time did not permit me to put together as good and large a collection as I would dearly have wished, but my contributions will be maintained periodically. At present I am working on a small volume on the plants of the Chatham Islands,

B64.10.02.

from where I have about 150 species (including Acotyledons) which, however, are almost entirely identical with those of New Zealand.

Sincerely yours

Ferd. Mueller.