Document information

Physical location:

RB MSS M4, Library, Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne. 66.09.25

Plant names

Preferred Citation:

George Bentham to Ferdinand von Mueller, 1866-09-25. 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/66-09-25>, accessed April 20, 2025

25, WILTON PLACE, S.W.
Sept 25 1866
My dear Sir
I have now returned to my work which I have commenced this morning at Kew I there found yours of the 26th June which I proceed to answer.
The two sp. of Hedyotis sent with the letter are both new to the Australian Flora but too late for my work of which the
Rubiaceae

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were printed off in June — one of them (H. macra F. Muell.
1
Not in APNI (accessed 22 April 2020).
) is the 1-flowered pedunculate form of O. herbacea
2
Oldenlandia herbacea

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.
DC or H. Burmanniana W. et A. the other (H. sclerophylla F. Muell
3
Not in APNI (accessed 22 April 2020).
) is O. paniculata Linn or H. racemosa Lam, both of them widely spread Asiatic forms which I had been surprised not yet to have met with from Australia and both have numerous synonyms given in Wight and Arnott's Prodromus
4
Wight and Arnott ( 1834).
and in my Flora Hongkongensis
5
Bentham (1861a).
p. 150, 151 — The
Morinda mussaendina

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F. Muell.
6
Not in APNI (accessed 22 April 2020).
is my M. reticulata p. 424 of Fl. Austral. v. III. The petallike expansions of one bract to each head cannot I think make a generic character as it is not constant in
Mussaenda

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Calycophyllum

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and other genera where it occurs.
I felt much disappointed at not finding the remaining
Compositae

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arrived as I hoped to finish the volume offhand I learn however from Dr Hooker that he has this day received intelligence of their being shipped and I trust I shall still be able to avail myself of them. I shall have the whole worked up on the materials we have (a great portion is written out for press) and shall only have to revise when your parcels arrive. I am exceedingly anxious to proceed rapidly with the Flora as I feel that at my age I may any day have to strike work and I know of no young botanist here ready to take it up upon my failing. The Genera Plantarum
7
Bentham & Hoker (1862-83).
is in excellent train in Dr Hooker's hands but neither he nor any one else I know has time for the tedious working up of species necessary for the Flora — I may be wrong in genera as well as in species but still I hope I shall have cleared the way in establishing the synonyms of the majority of old species and leaving tolerably authentic types both in your and our collections to guide those who may hereafter undertake an improved Flora of Australia. As to
Olearia

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I should have been sorry to have established half a hundred new synonyms but I think you will find that out of 61 species which I admit, there are only 25 that I first put into
Olearia

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. I would also add that upon consulting A. Gray who has specially devoted much attention to the
Asteroideae

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and whose opinions carry the greatest weight amongst botanists he tells me that he feels convinced that
Olearia

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(including
Eurybia

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) must be kept up.
8
See M to G. Bentham, 26 June 1866 (in this edition as 66-06-26a).
It is very possible as you say that I may have confounded some specimens of
Eucalyptus rostrata

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and E. viminalis. Our specimens of trees are often very bad and when at the best are often all fragments only and may very frequently be taken from branches or shoots or individuals accidentally abnormal — and I know I often hesitated much and remained in doubt about particular specimens in the enormous mass I had before me from half a dozen different herbaria which I had to take care of not to mix.
You will see that I referred to the account of
Loranthaceae

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you gave in the Rep. Burdek. Exped.
9
B60.13.12, frequently cited by Bentham (1863-78), vol. 3, pp. 389-95.
You allude to "many valuable volumes" I sent for your Library but I think it is to some one else that your thanks are due. I do not recollect having sent them to you.
10
See M to J. Hooker, 26 June 1866, and notes thereto.
I trust you will kindly send off the gamopetalous Order following
Compositae

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so as to reach me as early after Christmas as possible in order that I may proceed with the fourth vol. — which I suppose will include pretty well all the Monopetalae as no orders are very numerous except
Epacrideae

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Yours very sincerely
George Bentham
Dr F. Mueller