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69.11.28

Plant names

Preferred Citation:

Ferdinand von Mueller to Lewis Bernays, 1869-11-28. 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//letters/1860-9/1869/69-11-28-final.odt>, accessed June 9, 2026

1
Letter not found. For the text given here, see ‘New indigenous plant’, in the report of the meeting of the Quensland Acclimatisation Society held on 17 December 1869, in Brisbane courier, 18 December 1869, p. 5 (B69.12.05). The item is headed: ‘Extract from letter from Dr. F. von Mueller to Mr. L. A. Bernays, of date November 28, 1869’. It is introduced as follows: ‘Mr. Bernays said he wished to bring under the notice of the society a matter of some interest. It would be remembered that he made an expedition to the islands of the bay [i.e. Moreton Bay, Qld] some short time ago, and brought back some plants. One of them, he thought at the time was a new one, but he did not announce it as such until he had submitted it to Dr. Mueller. He had done so, and would read the following extract from the Doctor’s letter’.
November 28, 1869
Today I have spent a part of my leisure in examining your yellow-flowered phajus. The flower sent left me in doubt about some part of its labellum; nevertheless, I have very little hesitation in pronouncing your plant as specifically distinct from the three hitherto known Australian species. It would also appear that yours differs from the twenty Indian and Chinese species hitherto known. I am, however, unable to draw up from the material before me a good diagnosis; but feel justified in giving it a name, and am glad to distinguish it as ' '.
2
Phajus bernaysii was published in Reichenbach (1873), with the name attributed to 'Dr Rowland'; see notes to L. Bernays to M, November 1869 (in this edition as 69-11-00c).