The correspondence of Ferdinand von Mueller: 29/7/82 ¶ ¶ I have owed you a letter for a long time, dear Mr Holtze; but as you are in communication with Professor Tate, ¶ Tate had visited Maurice Holtze earlier in the year when he accompanied a ...

Document information

Physical location:

GRG 19/391, State Records of South Australia, Adelaide. 82.07.29

Preferred Citation:

Ferdinand von Mueller to Maurice Holtze, 1882-07-29. 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/82-07-29>, accessed September 11, 2025

29/7/82

Seit langer Zeit schuldige ich Ihnen einen Brief, lieber Herr Holtze; aber da Sie mit Hr. Prof. Tate in Verbindung sind, wird er Ihnen über die neuen Pflanzen wohl geschrieben haben, welche er entdeckte. Es sind nicht viele, aber es ist Einiges von hohem Interesse darunter. Ich bearbeite dieselben jezt. Wie Sie aus beigefügtem Blatte ersehen werden, hat auch Mr Alfred Giles in Ihrer Nähe eine neue Bauhinia (mit ungetheilten Blättern) gefunden, welche mir durch Mr Bailey zuging; wir haben diese merkwürdige Pflanze noch aus keiner anderen Sammlung, auch fehlen noch die Früchte.

Es müssen bei Ihnen noch manche andere Pflanzen vorkommen, welche bisher unbeschrieben sind, u. ich würde Ihnen rathen mit jeder Post ein kleines Packet zu senden.

Von den dortigen Nymphaea-Arten, auch von der niedlichen Sumpf Pflanze Monochoria cyanea mit blauer Blumen Ähre hätte ich gern Samen in Thon geknetet und dann langsam getrocknet. Bei diesem Sammeln in Ihren Lagunen bitte ich auch auf solche Wasser Pflanzen zu achten, welche keine schön aussehenden Blüthen haben. Eben unter den kleinen und unscheinbaren Pflanzen giebt es am meisten Neues , und solche sind ja so leicht zu trocknen. Ich sende Ihnen einen Probebogen eines neuen Werkes, welches eben unter der Presse ist; wahrscheinlich wird der erste Band am Ende dieses Jahres erscheinen u. soll Ihnen dann gesandt werden.

Mit bestem Grusse

der Ihre

Ferd. von Mueller.

Ich hätte gern eine neue Pflanze nach Ihnen genannt, es bedarf aber des Completirens Ihres Materials neuer Arten, wie früher schon geschrieben.

29/7/82

I have owed you a letter for a long time, dear Mr Holtze; but as you are in communication with Professor Tate,

Tate had visited Maurice Holtze earlier in the year when he accompanied a parliamentary party investigating the potentialities of the Northern Territory; see M. Holtze to M, 21 May 1882.

he will probably have written to you about the new plants he discovered. There are not very many, but there are some of great interest among them. I am working on them just now.

M described Strobilanthes Tatei in B82.12.05 and (with Tate) Pachynema sphenandrum in B82.14.01, both collected by Tate in Arnhem Land, NT. M also erected a new genus, Tatea, in B83.04.07, on the basis of another Tate collection in Arnhem Land.

As you will see from the enclosed sheet,

Sheet not found.

Mr Alfred Giles, too, discovered in your vicinity a new Bauhinia (with undivided leaves) that came to me through Mr Bailey. We do not have this remarkable plant from any other collection, and the fruits are still lacking.

There must be many other plants occurring in your area that so far are undescribed, and I should advise you to send a small parcel with each mail.

Of the local Nymphaea species there, also of the pretty swamp plant Monochoria cyanea with the blue flower spike, I should like to have seeds kneaded into clay and then slowly dried. While collecting in your waterholes I also ask you to look out for those aquatic plants that do not have beautiful-looking flowers. Particularly among such small and insignificant plants will be found most that is new , and these are also so easy to dry. I also am sending you a proof sheet of a new work that is presently in press; the first volume will probably be published at the end of this year and will then be sent to you.

Proof sheet not found. It would have been a sheet of M's Systematic c ensus, dated 1882 on its title page, but issued as B83.03.04. Printing was underway by April (M to A. de Candolle, 9 April 1882) and had reached sheet I by August (M to R. Tate, 22 August 1882 (in this edition as 82-08-22c)).The planned second volume on the Evasculares was never published.

With best greetings

your

Ferd. von Mueller.

I should like to have named a new plant after you, but it requires the completing of your material of new plants, as I have already previously written.

See, for example, item 160 in M to M. Holtze, 1881 (in this edition as 81-00-00j).

Bauhinia

Monochoria cyanea

Nymphaea