Ferdinand von Mueller

1

Letter not found. For the text given here, see B68.01.04, M's article describing Senicio tropaeolifolius. MacOwan's letter is dated to November 1866 as the latest date that he could have written to enable M to describe it as 'very recently received' when he read his paper at a meeting of the Royal Society of Victoria on 10 December 1866 (Transactions and proceedings of the Royal Society of Victoria, vol. 8, p. 312).

[In a communication very recently received from Peter M'Owan, Esq. Principal of Shaw College, Grahamstown,

2

South Africa.

I have been desired to give an opinion on the specific validity of a new species of Senecio, discovered by that learned and ardent investigator of South African plants in Algoa Bay. … The discoverer justly observes 'its nearest affinity to be with

Senecio paucifolius

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, from which, however, it abundantly differs in its pelate leaves. The leaf is very like a frequent form of S. oxyrifolius,

3

S. oxyriifolius?

but that plant has discoid capitula and a corymbose-paniculate infloresence']

4

MacOwan subsequenty apologized to Joseph Hooker for M's having published the species: 'in sending a set of plants to Dr Mueller I added a brief note of characters of the little Senecio of wh. a description was recently sent to you. Dr. M has I am told published this, wh. I regret but it cannot be helped now.' (P. MacOwan to J. Hooker, 16 April 1867, RBG Kew, Directors' correspondence, vol. 190, f. 1056). M's description was not published until 1 August 1867 (B67.08.01). He would, however, have received proofs of B68.01.04 soon after the paper was read in December 1866.