Document information

Physical location:

Barr Smith Library, University of Adelaide, SA. 82.06.00b

Plant names

Preferred Citation:

Ferdinand von Mueller to Ralph Tate, 1882-06 [82.06.00b]. 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/82-06-00b>, accessed September 11, 2025

1
The specimens in this list were collected during Tate's 1882 visit to the Northern Territory. He was granted leave of absence by the University of Adelaide to accompany a party of South Australian members of parliament which arrived in Darwin on 20 February 1882 (Northern Territory times and gazette, 25 February 1882, p. 2), and returned to Adelaide on 13 April (South Australian register (Adelaide), 14 April 1882, p. 6). A reporter from the Register with the group provided regular reports of the visit, and the localities in those reports correspond to the localities associated with Tate's collections at MEL (Various editions of the Register for 1882; Sowden (1882) is his revised consolidated account). M to R. Tate, 2 May 1882 (in this edition as 82-05-02a) suggests that Tate may initially have sent only some specimens, leading M to ask for a full set. M and Tate described Pachneyma sphenandrum, a species collected on this trip, in B82.14.01, read before the Royal Society of SA on 5 July 1882. M described Strobilanthes Tatei in B82.12.05, read before the Society on 5 September.
As It is likely that the first specimens were reported on around the time the description of Pachneyma sphenandrum was prepared, the item is dated to June 1882, but as M was still working on the collection when he wrote M to R. Tate, 16 December 1882 it is probable that not all of the pages were sent together. The physical nature of the reports, noted below, is consistent with the plants having been reported on in more than one communication to Tate. The arrangement of the MSS in the Tate collection at the University of Adelaide offers no clue to the sequence of receipt of the identifications. The record numbers included do not allow sheets to be sorted using that information. All undated MSS identifying plants from the 1882 trip are included here, but the sequence must be considered arbitrary.
It is not possible to match all the items in the numbered lists with a corresponding specimen at MEL. MEL does not hold specimens of some of the species under the name given in the list or a modern synonym. AVH data (accessed 28 April 2022) lists 66 MEL specimens dated 1882 of which 31 have a record number. In addition, there are 82 undated specimens from localities known to have been visited during the trip; of these 24 have record numbers. The same record number is used more than once, including for the same locality: for example, there are two Cox Peninsula specimens and one from Pine Creek with collecting number 3, all different species; for Adelaide River three different species have number 1. Specimens from other collecting trips, for example to the area around Lake Torrens in 1883, also have numbers used for the Northern Territory.
All locations are in what is now the Northern Territory, which at the time was administered by SA.
Annotations on the MS have presumably been made by Tate.
N. 2.
Hemiarrhena plantaginea

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B.
Cox Peninsula (Utricularia herb)
N. 2.
2
N. 2 repeated.
Vandellia scapigera

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, Benth.
(
Lobelia

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N. 2., herb.)
Cox peninsula.
In habit almost alike to V. lobelioides, but 4 fertile stamens developed. The leaves occur entire and denticulated as well in V. veronifolia;
3
Name not found (IPNI, accessed 30 May 2022).
the length of the pedicels is very variable; in the very specimen mentioned by Bentham from M'Adam Range, for some of
4
for some of interlined, with intended position indicated.
the pedicels are over one inch long. The specific name is ill chosen, and this is not the only plant of R.Br., concerning which that may be said.
N. 4.
Vandellia scapigera

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River Stapleton (
Lobelia

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, hb.)
N. 1.
Vandellia lobelioides

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F.v.M.
Cox's Peninsula
(Utricularia herb).
I have been unable to ascertain the structure of the stamens from the material I had; but the other characteristics agree.
5
End of page. It is possible that this sheet accompanied M to R. Tate, 2 May 1882 (in this edition as 82-05-02a), but that letter does not indicate that any identifications were enclosed with it. It is therefore included in this combined entry.
The items on this page cannot be matched to numbered records of Tate specimens in MEL, but there is a specimen of
Hemiarrhena plantaginea

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without a record number collected from Cox's Peninsula. Vandellia is 'a widespread taxon previously recorded for Australia. Australian taxa formerly placed in this genus are now placed in various other genera in the Linderniaceae' (Australian Plant Census entry quoted by APNI). There are two specimens without numbers shown as 'formerly identified as Lindernia scapigera ', one from Cox's Peninsula, the other from the Stapelton River, and two Linderna lobelioides, one from Cox's Peninsula and the other from Pine Creek (AVH, accessed 28 April 2022).
Desmodium nemorosum

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= D. polycarpum, D.C.
Tephrosia

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2 is
Galactia Muelleri

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B., unless it comprises besides a third Austral. species (G. Tatei
6
No species has been described under this name (APNI, accessed 28 May 2022).
), in which the upper leaflet is removed from the lateral ones by an elongaged stalklet. I will enquire into the specific value of this character & other peculiarities of these respective forms.
Galactia tenuiflora

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. Adelaide River
A Galactia also from M'Kinlay-River
Tephrosia

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12 mile M'Kinlay River
Euc. N. 1 =
Eucalyptus clavigera

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, A.C.
Stackhousia viminea

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, Cox's penins.
Claytonia uniflora

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Bamboo Creek
Polycarp.
2 =
Ptilotus

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4 =
Gomphrena
7
MS annotation: 'Pine Creek'.
3 =
Gomphrena
6 =
Gomphrena flaccida

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, RBr
7 =
Gomphrena affinis

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, FvM
Indigofera trita L var unifoliolata Have you the pod?
1.
Desmodium biarticulatum

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. FvM
8
MS annotation: 'Surely some mistake'.
2.
Indigofera
=
Tephrosia

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1.
"
=
Tephrosia

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Capparidea

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?
=
Tribulus Solandri

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, FvM
9
This is the final entry on a page.
Blechnum
= B. orientale L.
Cheilanthes tenuifolia

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, Sw!
Cheilanthes vellea

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FvM
Dr Luerssen, the monographer, now also abolishes Nothochlaena.
10
Luerssen (1882), as Notholaena ; see synonymy p. 443 in description of Cheilanthes Prenticei , pp. 442-3, dated end of February 1882. M supplied Luerssen two fertile fronds collected by Prentice from Thursday Island in 1881.
2.
Cheilanthes (Nothochlaena); near N. pumilio; I will examine it carefully.
Polypodium phymatodes

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L.
37.
Panicum Indicum

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L
40.
Cyperus

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34.
Panicum
11
MS stops half-way down the page.
19.
Andropogon Gryllus

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L. (Grass of the plains)
6.
Panicum
13.
Andropogon montanus Roxb.
14.
Ectrosia leporina

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, RBr
12
MS annotation: 'retd' [returned?].
11.
Panicum
10.
Panicum
12.
Panicum
14.
Panicum brevifolium

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, Linné (P. trichoides Sw).
9.
Panicum
7.
Panicum spinescens

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, RBr A swamp-grass
8.
Panicum
33
Erianthus fulvus

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, Kunth
36.
Panicum & 35
29.
Andropogon nervosus

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, Rottboell
13
Rottler is the author of
Andropogon nervosus

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; M has evidently confused him with Rottbøll [ Rottboell] who named numerous Australian Cyperaceae, but only one grass (APNI, accessed 28 May 2022).
31.
Andropogon contortus

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, L.
32.
Panicum semialatum

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. RBr & 39
26.
Eriachne obtusa

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, R. Brown.
14
MS annotation: '? ciliata'.
25.
Anthistiria ciliata

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, L.
28
Eriachne
23
Eragrostis

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18
Eriachne
24
Eragrostis

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22
Eragrostis

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21
Eragrostis

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15
Final entry on the page.
Cyperus

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16
Cyperus

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inserted by M at the top of a new page, with an indication that it refers to No. 7 below.
7
Fimbristylis Schultzii

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, Boeckeler
9.
Lipocarpha microcephala

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, R Brown (Kunth).
A var with very long involucral leaves
18
Gymnanthera nitida

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, RBr. (
Asclepiadeae

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)
Cyperoid N.6. =
Rhynchospora longisetis

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RBr
Potamogeton, not P. tenuicaulis. Have you fruit, or could such be obtained.
Aneilema gramineum

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!
Commelyna agrostophylla

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FvM.
17
MS annotation: 'retd' [returned?].
A well marked spec. as confirmed lately by the monographer Clarke
18
C. B. Clarke (1881), p. 158.
5.
Panicum trachyrachis

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, Bentham.
Setaria macrost

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19
Setaria macrost

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ycha?
= S. glauca, Beauvois
Cyperoid 12 Fimbristylis
Fimbristylis barbata

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! correct.
13.
Fimbristylis
20
Aristida arenaria

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, Gaudichaud.
15
Arundinella Schultzii

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, Bentham.
17
Andropogon australis

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, Sprengel (
Sorghum plumosum

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, Beauvois) The common grass of [the] plains
20
This is the final entry on the page, with about ¼ of the page left empty. There is an annotation below M's text, '11 12 [deleted number] ? [unicu…s]'.
9.
Gardenia megasperma

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FvM
6.
Centranthera hispida

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, RBr
21
Numbers 9 and 6 are both crossed through and marked 'retd' [returned?].
1.
Spermacoce

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3.
Spermacoce

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Labiat, 1. =
Gratiola

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Cynanchum

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=
Justicia procumbens

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,
22
Justicia procumbens

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crossed through.
L.
2.
Spermacoce

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Lobelia

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2 =
Vandellia
Utricul.
1 =
Vandellia
"
2 =
Vandellia
"
3=
"
30
Monstrosity
23
MS annotation: 'of what?'
4 = Vandellia
Orchid Cox's penins.
Habenaria

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!
27.
Ficus

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30
Rotala verticillaris

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L
31.
Terminalia

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28.
Sarcocephalus cordatus

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, Miquel
24
MS annotation: 'retd' [returned?].
19.
Mitrasacme
25
" "
23
" "
24
" "
20
Oldenlandia

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26.
Ammannia

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22
Oldenlandia

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27
" "
17
Jasminum simplicifolium

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Forst
16
Clerodendron floribundum

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,
25
Jasminum simplicifolum and
Clerodendron floribundum

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partially crossed through, presumably by Tate.
RBr.
14.
Mitrasacme connata

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, RBr
15
Mitrasacme
11.
Buchnera

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(
Striga

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) & 12
Cyperoid
11 =
Fimbristylis
"
8 =
Scleria

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"
10 =
Fimbristylis
26
The last entry on the page.
Abutilon

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Ind. = Gossypium (Fugosia) thespesioides FvM
Tiliac 2 =
Melochia corchorifolia

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L.
Santal 2 & 3. = Sebastiania
27
MS annotation in an unknown hand: 'Euphorbi'.
chamelaea J. Mueller
Comp. 1 =
Elephantopus scaber

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L.
Santal 1 =
Exocarpus latifolia

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, RBr
Trachymene hemicarpa

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. For this the genus
Didiscus

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should be restored, for Rudge included already indiscriminately
Didiscus

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& Trachymene in one genus, & the genus
Siebera

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was preoccupied among
Compositae

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, as Bentham subsequently acknowledged himself
Myrtac 1 =
Calycothrix brachychaeta

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F.v.M
37.
Portulaca
36.
Portulaca oleracea

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L
28
Portulaca oleracea

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and the following
Canthium lucidum

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both marked retd. [returned?].
. (Portulac)
34
Canthium lucidum

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Hook & Arnott
33
Premna acuminata

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, RBr.
2
Goodenia = G. Armstrongiana, de Vriese
3
Comp. =
Glossogyne tenuifolia

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, Cassini
Centipeda

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=
Epaltes australis

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, Lessing.
Erigeron

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=
Vernonia cinerea

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Lessing
29
13.
Heliotropium

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18.
Distichostemon phyllopterus

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FvM
15.
Pimelea punicea

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, RBr.