Al!1stral iaVJ S~s~ematic BotaVJ~ Soe~et~ NEWSLETTER No. 75 JUNE 1993 Price: $5.00 Registered by Australia Post Publication No. NBH 8068 ISSN 1034-1218 AUSTRALIAN SYSTEMATIC BOTANY SOCIETY INCORPORATED Office Bearers President Dr M.D. Crisp Division of Botany and Zoology Australian National University GPOBox4 CANBERRA ACf 2601 Tel (06) 249 2882 Fax (06) 249 5573 Email [email protected] Vice President Secretary Treasurer Dr J.A. Chappill Dr C. Puttock Dr P.G. Wilson Department of Botany Australian National Herbarium National Herbarium of NSW University of Western Australia GPO Box 1600 Mrs Macquaries Road NEDLANDS WA 6009 CANBERRA ACf 2601 SYDNEY NSW 2000 Tel (09) 380 2212 Tel (02) 246 5523 Tel (02) 231 8158 Fax (09) 380 1001 Fax (02) 246 5249 Fax (02) 251 4403 Councillors Dr T. Entwisle Dr J. Clarkson National Herbarium of Victoria Queensland Herbarium Birdwood Avenue P.O. Box 1054 SOUTHYARRA VIC 3141 MAREEBA QLD 4880 Tel (03) 655 2313 Tel (070) 92 1555 Fax (03) 655 2350 Fax (070) 92 3593 Affiliated Society Papua New Guinea Botanical Society Australian Botanical Liaison Officer Dr P.H. Weston Royal Botanic Gardens Kew Richmond, Surrey. TW9 3AB. ENGLAND. Tel 44-81-940-1171 Fax 44-81-332-5278 Austral. Syst. Bot. Soc. Newsletter 75 (June 1993) 1 ARTICLES Wntiam V. Fitzgerald - miscellaneous notes on his N.W. Australian collections, publications and. manuscripts Philip Short National Herbarium of Victoria Birdwood Avenue, South Yarra, Victoria 3141 Introduction lished in The Western Mail (Perth). Some names lack, or are felt to lack, an adequate description, I have briefly dealt with William Vincent Fitz- .. andareregarded as nomen nuda. Others have been gerald as part of a previous article in this newsletter deemed to be validly published. Thus, Gordon (Austral. Syst. Bot. Soc. Ne;wsletter 63: 4-8, June Guymer (Aust: Syst. Bot. l: 199~3~3) cites The 1990). I: noted~ among other things, Fitzgerald's. Western Mail as thc;i place of valid publication of apparent "blacklisting" -.at least in the eyes of . several species, including:- · Alfred Ewart - and also stated that "Fitzgerald's Sterculia viridiflora Fitzg., The Western Mail collections seem to be mainly in E, NSW and · (Perth) p. 7 & photo p. 27 (9 June 1906). PERTH." Original description reads: "greenish coloured • Since writing that article; I have been in contact flowers~· (Aust. Syst. Bot. 1: 291). with Kevin Kenneally (PERTH), who has accu­ Sterculia visciduia Fitzg., The WestemMail(Perth) mulated .considerable biographic data about Fitzge­ p. 10 &photo p. 24 (2 June 1906). Original rald. Keviri now has copies of relevant letters that I description reads: "blossoms are large, bell­ have gathered, and he hopes to publish a biogra­ shaped, of a. scarlet c~lour in bunches on the phy of this most interesting botanist. Although old branches, and along with the fruit, more or keeping an eye out for pertinent biographic mate­ less viscid without" (Aust. Syst. Bot. 1: 291). rial, my main interests inFitzgerald, with the In APNI (A.D. Chapman, Australian Plant exception of the "run-in" with Ewart and the botan­ Name Index, 1991) The Western Mail is not i<:;al"blacklisting", are concerned with his publica­ regarded as the valid place ofpublication for S. tions and the locality ofhis type specimens. There viridifolia; instead reference is given to the later are problems with Fitzgerald's publications with. publication in J. Proc. Roy. So.c. W~st. Aust: regards to the status of his· names o(N.W: Austra­ Similar differences of opinion occur for names lian plants published in the The Western Mail in Eucalyptus. No-one is likely to dispute the cita­ (Perth) in 1906. Opinions also vary as to the tion Eucalyptus houseana Fitzg. ex Maiden, 1. authorship of some of Fitzgerald's riames for Proc. Roy; Soc. N.S.W. 49: 318 (1916). When N.W. Australian plants puplished in works by J. describing it, Maiden recorded:- · H. Maiden. The name Houseanawas used by MrFitzge­ I outline some of these problems here, as they rald in the "Western Mail," Perth, W.A. of . may make for interesting discussion (perhaps in 2nd June, 1906. No desciiptimi. of the plant the Newsletter?), and then tum to the subject of_ was ever published. A small·scale photograph Fitzgerald's manuscript;; and type specimens held was accompanied by .the following words:­ at BM, the latter being an important repository of "Eucalypt!lSHousecina, W.V.F. after Dr F.M. Fitzgerald's specimens, a fact I omitted to mention House, is among the tallest of the tropical in my earlier article. I c"onclude with a brief species,)t occasionally reaching a height of inention ofspecimens at E. ~ 80 feet. This tree usually occurs on well­ grassed plains between the Isdell and Cham- Valid or invalid descriptions in the ley Rivers." · Western Mail? In contrast, Eucatyptus mooreana Fitzg. ex .Maiden, J. Proc. Roy. Soc. N.S.W. 47: 221 I haven't seen the publication, but in June (1914) is perhaps adequately described. Maiden 1906 a number of Fitzgerald's names were pub- rioted:- · 2 Austr~l. Syst. Bbt. Soc. Newsletter 75 (June 1993) The name was used by Mr Fitzgerald in the li., 445 (1917)) notes on or descriptions of "Western Mail,'' Perth, W.A.; of 2nd June, Eucalypts collected by Mr Fitzgerald, embo­ 1906. No description of the plant was ever dying his notes or descriptions where availa­ published. A small scale photograph was· ble. accompanied by_ the following words:­ Concerning Ac-acia, the same remarks "Eucalyptus Mooreana, W.V.F. is a new apply as regards tropical species, to my species occurring on the summits of Mount papers in Proc. Roy. Soc. N,S.W., li., 71 Broome, Rason, Leake and Bold Bluff. It (1917) and "The Flora of the Northern Terri­ forms a small. crooked tree, with usually tory" (Ewart and Davies), published b)' the mealy~ white leaves and pale yellow flowers. Federal Government, 1917, Appendix iv., .. It.has been named out of compliment to the· Aeacias, :p. 318. As regards Extra-tropical present Minister for Lands." · species, Proc. Roy. Soc., N.S.W. li., 238 Fat this species I would be inclined to use the (1917). citation: Eucalyptus mooreana Fitzg., The Western On 11th April, 1916, I received from Mr Mail (Perth)'21(1066): 10 (2 June 1906) [n~v., Fitzgerald, the day after. his departure on extracted fromAPNI]. active service, his M.S. on Western Austra­ Although there are different interpretations as lian plants, together with some herbarium to the place of valid publication of these names, I specimens. With the author away from Aus­ am not aware thar any ofthem matter; in as much tralia (he recently returned wounded), I acted no other names which could have priority exist. in his interests as well as I could. Some few But these examples do highlight the difficulties that remaining Eucalyptus notes I will continue to _ can be faced in deciding just what constitutes a publish in .the Royal Society, New South valid description. · · · Wales, series of papers, and others in my Criti'cal Revision dfthe genus. ~ Authorship of Fitzgerald's names A Hydrocharidiacea, which on receipt of the manuscripts I found Mr Fitzgerald had Followinghis field work in N.W. Australia, described (but not published) hae been for­ Fitzgerald took pen to hand and compiled descrip­ warded by me to Dr A. B. Rendle, F.R.S., tions of a large number of species, but there was of the British Museum, a specialist on this considerable delay in publication. Manuscripts Family, as far back as July, 1915 [Maiden is were completed, at the very latest, in early 1912 referring here toMaidenia Fitzg. ex Rendie,.J. (see below). but most of his species of N.W. Bot. 54: 316 (1916)]. plants werenot described for another six years, No opportunity presented itself of dealing attempts to publish in the Journal of Botany not with Mr Fitzgerald's manuscripts in 1916. I leading to fruition. Without the efforts of J.H. divided them into three parts (a) The present Maiden it is possible that Fitzgerald's work may portion, which deals with the tropical (chiefly not_ have been published. Iri the major paper per­ Kimberley) plants. This is by far the most taining to Fitzgerald's N. W. Australian pr Kimber­ valuable; I have re-arranged it but have not ley plants (J. Proc. Roy. Soc, W.A. 3: 102-224, otherwise interfered with it. (b) Some notes 1918), containing an introduction by Maideri, the on'other Western Australian plant~; valuable latter informs u_s:- but not so urgent. (c) Descriptions of Western Mr Fitzgerald was attached to two expedi- · Australian plants already published by ·Mr tions, viz., that of C. Crossland in 1905, and Fitzgerald. It was evidently the intention of one in the following year. A note on the Mr fitzgerald to publish (a), (b), and (c) as a botanical work will be found in my "Notes complete work, and this would have been . on Acacia, No.li., Tropical Western Austra-­ very co:nveriient. Of course no scientific lia," in Proc. Roy ..Soc. N.S.W.li., 106, journal would republish (c). It is regretted 1917. The few specimens collected by Dr that the pres.ent paper was not published years House, collected on the F. S. ·Brockman · ago, but finaneial difficulties apparently stood ex~dition of 1901 are referred to, op. cit. p. in the way. 104, and· are included by Mr Fitzgerald in the During the last ten years I obtained a present paper.- number of specimens of Mr Fitzgerald's col­ From time to tirne I brought before the .