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Physical location:
Barr Smith Library, University of Adelaide,SA. 90.06.18Preferred Citation:
Ferdinand von Mueller to Ralph Tate, 1890-06-18. 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/90-06-18>, accessed September 11, 2025
18/6/90.
Am glad, dear Professor, that you are well again; but you will now have
severe
work devolving on you, to get through your semestrial cursus.
1
i.e. his university teaching.
Was very sorry, that so little time, even on Sundays was available for working on
plants, but one way or other I spent a great many hours in doing for Tietken's plants,
what I have done.
I may not send the description of the Eriocaulon now for some time,
as I have promised a contribution to the R.S. of N.SW. two months ago for the meeting
in the commencement of July, and I have not even yet commenced.
Am glad, that you will put also the arrear-notes into the new volume.
2
M and Tate published jointly an account of the plants collected by William Tietkens
during his 1889 expedition to Central Australia; see B90.14.03 and a supplement by
M alone, B90.12.02.
3
M and Tate published the name
Eriocaul
o
n graphitinum
in B90.14.03, p. 95, but
mis-spelled as
E. graphitimum
as M here notes, and
without description
; their name
, with the correct spelling,
was retained when it was formally published in Ewart & Davies (1917), p. 67.
Attached to MEL 710185, with a label completed in M's hand 'Eriocaulon graphitinum,
F.v.M
|
1889, Tietkens', is a pencilled note by M:
'I have not worked on Eriocaulon since the issue of the first volume of the fragmenta.
The material of my new species, now left, is very scanty, as the principle specimens
went to Kew in 1857 and the rest was partly given to Prof Koernicke who asked for
it but (so far as I am aware) never wrote on it.'
M described seven species of
Eriocaulon
in B59.02.03, citing Körnicke (1854) in the discussion of
E. heterogynum
(p. 94); Körnicke (1863) is another major treatment, of Brazilian species, but M’s
species are not mentioned. The herbarium sheet also has a label in a different hand, without a
collector specified, 'Eriocaulon | 12 Mile, McKinlay R.' Tietkens did not explore as far north as the McKinlay River, NT (see the NLA digitized map of his expedition,
http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-231442462
(accessed 12 April 2023), and his journal, Tietkens (1890)).
4
The first part of M's report on M. Holtze's collections from Arnhem Land, NT (B91.
05
.0
7
) was read to the Royal Society of
New South Wales
on 2 July 1890.
Regardfully your
Ferd. von Mueller.
It was a mere writing error, when I called the Ionidium or Hybanthus
aurantiacus
in the msc H. miniatus. It was omitted with many other doubtful plants from the Census,
but I shall accept it for the next supplement.
5
No supplements to the second, 1889 edition of M's
Census
(B89.
12.03
) were published.
Have just received the extra-prints for which I feel much obliged. The species-name
of the Eriocaulon should be graphiti
n
um, = graphite colored. I shall place before the next meeting of our Field-Naturalists
Club specimens of Corysanthes unguiculata, just discovered in Victoria by Mr C. French jun
Perhaps the plant occurs also in S.A. It likes slightly saline soil among Melaleuca
ericifolia near the coast, and it is one of the earliest spring-plants to flower.
Have you S.A. specimens of Blyxa? I should like to get soon slips of the "additions"
6
Charles H. French.
At the meeting of the Field Naturalists' Club of Victoria on 14 July 1890, G. Luehmann
read a paper on M's behalf (B90.08.03) and also reported French's discovery of
Corysanthes unguiculata
; see
Vic
torian
naturalist
, vol. 7, 1890, p. 42, and B90.08.04.
Do you like to join the RGS. of England? I will gladly propose you.
The expense is not great, — and as you will be aware — the publications are highly
valuable. Estimates here not yet before Parliament; so we do not know, whether our
geogr. branch will have for 1890-1891 a grant
7
N
o evidence has been found of
Tate
's
being nominated for the Royal Geographical Society
, London
.
It would be well for priority's sake to place the "Additions" msc. before the next
meeting of your RS
8
M's supplement to the list published by him and Tate of the plants collected during
Tietkens's expedition to Central Australia was read to the Royal Society of
South Australia
on 7 October 1890; see B90.12.02.
Blyxa
Corysanthes unguiculata
Eriocaulon graphitinum
Hybanthus aurantiacus
Hybanthus miniatus
Ionidium
Melaleuca ericifolia