The correspondence of Ferdinand von Mueller: 23/10/91 ¶ ¶ I look forward with great pleasure, dear Prof. Tate, to my visit soon to Sir Thomas Elder and other S.A. friends, but I may not be able to come before December. ¶ ¶ The information abou...

Document information

Physical location:

Barr Smith Library, University of Adelaide, SA. 91.10.23

Plant names

Gentiana saxosa
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Scleranthus biflorus
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Preferred Citation:

Ferdinand von Mueller to Ralph Tate, 1891-10-23. 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/1890-6/1891/91-10-23-final.odt>, accessed June 5, 2026

23/10/91

I look forward with great pleasure, dear Prof. Tate, to my visit soon to Sir Thomas Elder and other S.A. friends, but I may not be able to come before December.

Writing from Scotland, Thomas Elder had offered to finance an exploring expedition (T. Elder to M, 2 July 1890). He did not return to Adelaide until 5 March 1891. M did not visit Adelaide in 1891 but visited there very briefly on 19-20 January 1892.

The information about extensive plant-collections, formed during Sir Th Elders Expedition, came to me indirectly. We will be easy able, to arrange about our joint work on these plants, when they arrive, as Sir Thomas expressed already long ago a wish, that a share of the collections should go to Victoria

The large majority of the species will be well known to both of us, so that they can at once be absolved at a mere glance. The remainder can then be taken up by us, in what might be most convenient to you and me at the time. You will doubtless have much of geologic specimens also to examine.

Whatever the final arrangement will be, let us work up the novelties (probably not numerous) conjointly.

A report by M and Tate on the plants collected during the Elder Scientific Exploring Expedition, 1891-2, was presented by Tate at the meeting of the Royal Society of SA on 6 December 1892. Page proofs were prepared but these were not published for want of financial support (see Lucas (2018), p. 618). However, an equivalent report did appear in Botanisches Centralblatt (see B93.14.07).

Trusting soon to see you personally your

Ferd. von Mueller

Mr Eckert just sent some stray supplemental specimens from the lower Glenelg-country.

SA.

Thus is new for SA. Like it is a stray-plant there from its highland home.

My stay in SA can at best be but brief