The correspondence of Ferdinand von Mueller: Melbourne ¶ 1/12/74. ¶ ¶ I have not been able, dear Mr Bentham, to do much for the Flora this month, because I struggled for the increase of my working vote of £300 (without buildings available); ¶ S...

Document information

Physical location:

RBG Kew, Kew correspondence, Australia, Mueller, 1871-81, f. 156. 74.12.01a

Preferred Citation:

Ferdinand von Mueller to George Bentham, 1874-12-01 [74.12.01a]. 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/1870-9/1874/74-12-01a-final.odt>, accessed May 15, 2026

Melbourne

1/12/74.

I have not been able, dear Mr Bentham, to do much for the Flora this month, because I struggled for the increase of my working vote of £300 (without buildings available);

See Victoria, Parliamentary Debates, Session 1874, vol. 20, pp. 2169-71 (25 November) and 2178-9 (26 November).

and some of my time was taken up by geographic matters, partly arising from a visit of the explorers Forrest to Victoria after a brave dash of theirs through deserts from W. Australia to S. Australia.

John and Alexander Forrest, travelling with four others, using horses and without camels, left Perth on 18 March 1874 and arrived at the Peake station on the Overland telegraph line in SA on 30 September. See Threadgill (1922), pp. 150-2. On 25 November, the Mayor invited M, among others, to welcome the Forrest brothers at a small reception at the Melbourne Town Hall (Argus, 26 November 1874, p. 5).

What little phytographically I have done is contained in the last number (71) of the fragmenta,

B74.11.01.

which concludes the eighth volume.

RBrown must have overrated the species of the genus of Cyperus much. Including Mariscus and Kyllingia he gives 46, whereas I can distinguish (with the numerous additions included) only 39.

B74.11.01, pp. 259-71.

Courtoisia (which I have not seen from Australia) is most certainly a section of Cyperus, but Anosporum is a good genus. It is Thwaites's Cyperus Hookerianus. It is curious, that our Ceylon friend did not find out any of the older synonyms.

Among Rochels Hungarian plants I find 3 Cyperi new for Germany: C. congestus, C. polystachyos,

C. polystachyus?

& C. pygmaeus; two of these are indeed new for Europe, unless indeed C. pygmaeus should prove after all only a state of Isolepis Micheliana.

Although there were no Cyperus specimens collected by A. Rochel included in the Australian Virtual Herbarium data base (accessed 16 July 2019), a large number of specimens of other genera collected by him in Hungary were listed for the National Herbarium of Victoria. Rochel's plants were included in the Steetz herbarium that M purchased in 1863. See M to G. Bentham, 12 December 1863, and Short & Sinkora (1988).

I wonder, whether Böcklers

Böckeler? The reference is probably to Boeckeler (1868-77), or to the series of articles in Linnaea that were later consolidated (see TL2, title number 580).

observations do coincide with mine.

Let me hope you are strong and well.

Always with deep regards your

Ferd von Mueller

The Palm discovered by Mr Giles in the "glen of Palms" I find now to be distinct and have called it Livistona Mariae.

Ernest Giles. See B74.08.01, p. 221 and B74.13.01, p. 283.

Anosporum

Courtoisia

Cyperus congestus

Cyperus Hookerianus

Cyperus polystachyos

Cyperus pygmaeus

Isolepis Micheliana

Kyllingia

Livistona Mariae

Mariscus