Document information

Physical location:

GRG 19/391, State Records of South Australia, Adelaide. 84.02.06

Plant names

Preferred Citation:

Ferdinand von Mueller to Maurice Holtze, 1884-02-06. 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/84-02-06>, accessed September 11, 2025

6/2/84.
Ihre kleine blattlose Orchidee N. 362, lieber Herr Holtze, habe ich untersucht, u. finde ich, dass es eine Leucorchis ist, von welchem Genus wir noch keine Art aus Australien kannten. Es sind überhaupt nur 3 bekannt, u soweit ich nach Ihren Exemplaren urtheilen kann, ist diese Ihre Art von L. minuta nicht verschieden. Selbst in Indien ist sie ausserordentlich selten oder bisher übersehen.
Sollten Sie dies merkwürdige Pflänzchen wieder in Blüthe antreffen, so bitte ich Sie, einige Ex. in Spiritus zu thun, damit ich meine Analyse — nach trocknen Ex. gemacht, — verificiren kann.
Mit besten Grüssen
Ihr Ferd. von Mueller
6 February 1884.
I have examined your little leafless orchid No. 362,
1
See also M to M. Holtze, November 1883 (in this edition as 83-11-00a), and M to M. Holtze, 6 January 1884.
dear Mr Holtze, and I find that it is a Leucorchis, a genus of which we did not know any species from Australia. There are only 3 species known altogether, and as far as I can determine from your specimens, this species of yours does not differ from L. minuta.
2
MEL 625945 has a note by M: '362 Leucorchis quite new for Australia very likely L. minuta'. Another note, in a different hand, says 'North Australia 1886 Rev. J E Tenison Woods & M. Holtze', but an analysis of the collecting records for the numerous specimens recorded at MEL as a joint collection between Tenison Woods and Holtze in 1886 indicates that the great majority if not all of such specimens were not collected jointly but were given to Tenison Woods by Holtze in 1886 when Tenison Woods was in the NT, and were later acquired by M from Tenison Woods's estate. M subsequently received another specimen (MEL 625944), collected at the Bloomfield River, Qld, in February 1885 by Ellie Bauer, and was, it seems, persuaded by this to re-think his determination since his label on it says 'Didymoplexis pallens (Leucorchis) Griffith | Bloomfield River | Febr 1885 | Miss Bauer'. In B89.12.03, p. 188, M listed the plant under this name, giving Leucorchis as a synonym.
Even in India it is extremely rare, or has been overlooked so far.
I ask you, should you come across this strange little plant again in flower, to place a few specimens in alcohol, so that I can verify my analysis, made from dried specimens.
With best greetings
Your
Ferd. von Mueller.