Ferdinand von Mueller

1

Letter not seen. The text given here is from W. Sonder to D. von Schlechtendal, 4 March 1854; Briefwechsel von D.F.L. von Schlechtendal, Herbarium, Universität Halle-Wittenberg.

The extract is introduced by 'Vor einigen Tagen ist wieder eine Kiste mit Pflanzen eingetroffen, die viel Interessantes, die Ausbeute von Müller’s Reise in die Buffaloe-range, (Büffelgebirge) enthält. Müller schreibt:' [Some days ago, a box of plants arrived again, containing many interesting things, the spoils of Mueller's journey in the Buffaloe Range (Buffalo Mountains). Mueller writes:]

The journey was much more extensive than to Mt Buffalo; see below for the probable date of the storm described, when M was in South Gippsland, in the vicinity of Corner Inlet. For an account of the journey see B53.10.01. The letter and specimens must have been sent to Sonder after M returned to Melbourne on 26 June 1853 from his 5-month journey (see M. to W. Lonsdale, 27 June 1853), and before he commenced his next expedition on 1 November 1853 (see M. to J. Foster, 1 November 1853 (in this edition as 53-11-01a)). The letter is dated to October on the basis of the comment in M to W. Hooker, 18 October 1853, that 'I have despatched to Dr Sonder also lately a set of duplicates from my last journey, to be distributed occasionally and respectively amongst monographers'.

das Büffel Gebirge habe ich in seinen höchsten Gipfele zum ersten Male erstiegen, niemand wenigstens war bisher auf seinen höchsten Piks, u der noch höhere Mount Buller ist nur von 2 oder 3 Parthien früher erklettert. Ich war dort ganz allein 3 Tage u hatte das ausserordentliche Vergnügen auf seinem eisigen Felskamme u einem merkwürdigen grasigen Gesenke etwa 5000’ hoch die ersten Alpenpflanzen Neuhollands zu finden, eine liebliche grossblumige Gentiana, Celmisia asteliaefolia, Ranunculus Gunnianus, Podocarpus montanus, Phebalium podocarpaeoides, Hovea u Brachycome Arten, Alpengräser u.s.w. Die herrlichste Entdeckung im Buffaloe-range war eine prachtvolle Grevillea u eine bis 20 Fuss hohe grossblättrige Corraea. Neben manchen Eigenthümlichkeiten in Gippsland, welches ich wohl zuerst botanisch zu untersuchen das Glück hatte, erfreute mich eine köstliche parasitische Scrophularina, Basilophyta Friederici augusti, u war ich nicht wenig erstaunt, hier so manche Seltenheit zu finden, die man früher als der gegenüber liegenden Van Diemens-Insel ausschliesslich angehörend hielt, z.b. Tasmania aromat, Fagus Cunninghami, Gymnoschoenus adustus, Diplarrhena Moraea etc: – In der letzten Zeit wäre es mir bald schlimm ergangen; ich hatte mich in den überflutheten Gestrüppen von Melaleuca squarrosa & Leptosperm. juniperinum u den Lepidosperma Sümpfen verirrt und musste 5 Tage im schrecklichsten Regensturm im Freien zubringen, die ganze Zeit von einer einzigen Frühstücksration lebend, die ich glücklicherweise mitgenommen hatte. Im Sommer findet der hungrige Naturforscher hier wohl kleine essbare Beeren, diesmal fand ich nicht das geringste Essbare, einige verwilderte Pflanzen von Stellaria media ausgenommen. Das botanische Resultat dieser schrecklichen Tage war eine einzige Binse (Chorizandra).

I have climbed the Buffalo Mountains

2

Vic.

and its highest peak for the first time — at least hitherto no-one was on its highest peaks, and the even higher Mount Buller has only been climbed by 2 or 3 parties previously. I was there all alone for 3 days and had the extraordinary pleasure of finding the first alpine plants of New Holland on its icy ridge and a strange grassy depression about 5000' high, a lovely large-flowered Gentiana, Celmisia asteliaefolia, Ranunculus gunnianus, Podocarpus montanus,

3

P. montana is the spelling used in B53.10.01and had been used for a South American species by Endlicher (1847), p. 219.

Phebalium podocarpaeoides,

4

P. podocarpoides?

Hovea and Brachycome species, alpine grasses and so on. The most wonderful discovery in the Buffalo Range was a magnificent Grevillea and a large-leaved Corraea up to 20 feet tall. In addition to some peculiarities in Gippsland, which I was probably fortunate enough to examine botanically first, I was delighted by a delicate parasitic Scrophularina,

5

Scrophularinae?

Basilophyta Friederici-augusti,

6

M listed Basileophyta friderici-augusti in B53.10.01, p. 16 (B. friderici-augusta in APNI) but never formally described it after recognising it as Cunningham's Fieldia australis; see M to W. Hooker, 27 May 1854.

and was not a little surprised to find so many rarities here that were previously thought to belong exclusively to the opposite Van Diemen's Island,

7

More usually Van Diemen's Land, now Tasmania.

e.g. Tasmania aromat,

8

T. aromatica. M misspelled Tasmannia as Tasmania in B53.10.01, p. 9.

Fagus c unninghami, Gymnoschoenus adustus, Diplarrena moraea etc. — Lately I had fared very badly; I got lost in the flooded scrub of Melaleuca squarrosa & Leptosperm.

9

Leptospermum.

juniperinum and in the Lepidosperma swamps and had to spend 5 days in the most terrible rainstorm in the open,

10

M to W. Lonsdale, 27 June 1853 implies that the heavy rains were after he had written M to W. Lonsdale, 10 May 1853, from Alberton, Vic, and suggests that M was caught in the heavy weather that was reported toward the end of May and beginning of June in the Victorian and Tasmanian newspapers. See also the report by his colleague the Government Statist W. H. Archer, that M was marooned 'for four days and nights without food or a fire' (Archer (1854), p. 43).

the whole time living on a single breakfast ration which I had fortunately taken with me. In summer, the hungry naturalist will probably find small edible berries here, this time I did not find the slightest edible thing, some wild plants of Stellaria media excepted. The botanical result of these terrible days was a single rush (Chorizandra).