The correspondence of Ferdinand von Mueller: Bestens grüssend ¶ 26/1/92 ¶ ¶ In the letter that I sent with last week's mail, esteemed Professor, I remarked that one small parcel of ¶ Myristica ¶ specimens had gone off by book post to you (reg...

Document information

Physical location:

Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin, Preussischer Kulturbesitz, Berlin. 92.01.26

Plant names

Bassia
Search for Bassia in
Brassia
Search for Brassia in
- This website
- Australian Plant Name Index
Brassica
Search for Brassica in
Myristica myrmecophila
Search for Myristica myrmecophila in
- This website
- Australian Plant Name Index

Preferred Citation:

Ferdinand von Mueller to Adolf Engler, 1892-01-26. 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/92-01-26>, accessed September 11, 2025

26/1/92

Im Briefe, den ich mit letztwöchentlicher Post sandte, geehrter Herr Professor, bemerkte ich, dass ein Päckchen von Myristica-Exemplaren abgegangen sei durch die Buch-Post an Sie (registrirt). Ich fand aber, dass die Exemplare in zwei Packete (freilich nur in Gross-Octav) gepackt werden mussten. Vielleicht würde der Monographgleich nach Empfang mir Auskunft geben über Arten, die er, als geübt in dieser Kenntniss ohne Studium erkennen kann für specifische Position. Ich halte 2 der papuanischen Arten als neu, obwohl eine derselben der nahe kommt. Welche Vermehrungsucht der Pflanzen-Namen, die freilich im geringeringeren

geringeren.

Grade modern geworden ist, die von Kuntze! Wenn 2 Gattungs Namen überhaupt auch nur ganz gering verschieden buchstabirt werden, so sind beide gültig; er aber überwirft sie. So könnte man ja auch 2 Neue Gattungs Namen schaffen, weil , u ähnlich klingen!

Bestens grüssend

Ferd. von Mueller

26/1/92

In the letter that I sent with last week's mail, esteemed Professor, I remarked that one small parcel of Myristica specimens had gone off by book post to you (registered). I found, however, that the specimens had to be packed in two parcels (of course only in large octavo). Perhaps immediately after receipt the monographer

O. Warburg was preparing a supplement to the treatment by Prantl (1891); see Warburg (1897).

would give me information about the species that he, being experienced in this knowledge, can identify for specific position without study. I regard 2 of the Papuan species as new, although one of them comes close to .

No record of M's naming a Myristica species has been found in IPNI (accessed 14 July 2018); M had listed 12 species of the genus in the Appendix in B77.13.02.

What a desire for increasing plant names, which of course has become fashionable to a small degree, that of Kuntze!

Kuntze (1891-8) and 'his numerous subsidiary papers on nomenclatural questions' were aimed at revision of botanical nomenclature, firmly based on the principle of publication priority, but '[h]is intolerance of opposing views and his imperfect command of some of the foreign languages in which his polemics were published, contributed to his peculiar distinction in the botanical world, but detracted somewhat from the serious consideration to which his opinions were entitled' (anonymous obituary, Torreya, vol. 7 (1907), p. 88). See also n. 3 to M to A. Engler, 6 August 1892.

If 2 generic names are even only very slightly differently spelled, both are valid, but he throws them out. So one could certainly also create two new generic names, because , and sound similar!

Best greetings

Ferd. von Mueller