Ferdinand von Mueller

1

Letter not found. The text given here is from '

Bolbophyllum minutissimum

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', Gardeners' chronicle, 21 June 1879, p. 789-90 (B79.06.02). It is introduced by 'Baron F. von Mueller writes:—'. The letter is dated to May 1879 as the latest likely date that it could have been sent to be published in this issue.

From the enclosed letter

2

See R. King to M, 1 April 1879, which is printed as a quotation by M following this letter.

of Canon King (son of Admiral King), you will perceive that this gentleman was the original discoverer of the

Bolbophyllum minutissimum

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, of which until now I was not aware, but you will also notice that the genus Bolbophyllum was in Mr. W. S. M'Leay's time not known and recognised as Australian, the plant having been lost during the last twenty years, during which period I successively published the ten Bolbophylla now known. I was not aware of the suggestion of Canon King; that the plant might be called Dendrobium nummulifolium, a designation which would have been more suitable than D. moniliforme, if the leaves or pseudobulbs were only larger, for they are flat and thus certainly more coin-like than bead-like. In saying 'leaves or pseudobulbs,' I must add that I hesitated from the beginning to acknowledge the disk-like leafy organs as leaves, and considered the probability of their pseudobulbous nature, but did not introduce the ambiguity of the subject, as I ought to have done, in the designation. What led me to assume them to be leaves was the affinity of B. lichenastrum to the minute species under discussion, the leaves of the former being also very small and depressed, and also unaccompanied by pseudobulbs. Still the leaves of B. lichenastrum are nearly basifixed, whereas the disk-like bodies of B. minutissimum are half adnate to rootlets. Possibly the extremely minute awl-shaped processes, occasionally arising from the disks, may indicate rudimentary leaves, and may sometimes assume larger size and expression of really leafy significance. Sir Geo. M'Leay, whose friendship I also enjoy, must, after so long a time, be misled by his memory in stating that the B. minutissimum was always known, as he says in the Gardeners' Chronicle, as B. moniliferum;

3

In 'Home correspondence', 'The smallest orchid in the world', Gardeners' chronicle, 11 January 1879, p. 55, 'G. M'L' [George MacLeay] wrote:

It is not worth while perhaps to correct a mistake of such very little moment, but as I am satisfied that my excellent friend Baron von Mueller, from what he says at p. 818 of your last volume [M to Gardeners' chronicle, November 1878 [in this edition as 78-11-00b]), must have mixed up two distinct plants, I may be allowed to state that I was personally for years well acquainted with the special specimen of the Orchid in question, which was established on an escarpment of sandstone rock, where it did well, and was therefore not soon placed in a conservatory. This Orchid was discovered by the Rev. Robert King, of Morris College, Liverpool, New South Wales, an accomplished botanist, named by him Bolbophyllum moniliforme, and presented by him to my brother. It flowered I believe every year, and was never supposed to be of any other genus.

The correspondence in the Gardeners' chronicle included, in the issue of 1 February 1879:

The Smallest Orchid in the World. — Having just seen specimens of this wee plant, sent by Baron von Mueller to Kew, l am reminded of his communication thereon to the Gardeners' Chronicle, p. 818 of the last volume, and of "G. M'L.'s" reply thereto at p. 55 of the present volume. It is evident that Baron Mueller has not confounded two plants, as "G. McL." assumes, but having first mentioned the original plant in his Fragmenta as a Dendrobium he could not retain the name moniliforme, as that was preoccupied in the genus, and therefore he substituted the name minutissinium, which should now fall before the former if that has been published as really a Bulbophyllum. W. B. H. [William Botting Hemsley]

this I would like to mention publicly, that it may not appear as if I had usurped a name for this dwarfest of all Orchids, given by his venerable and learned brother. Perhaps this memorable Orchid should rather be called the dwarfest than the smallest, inasmuch as the roots are elongated, and as thus one individual plant is provided with a multitude of disk-like pseudobulbs or leaves, although in height even

Malaxis paludosa

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, in its smallest forms, is a giant compared to it.