HISTORY OF BOTANY IN SOUTH AUSTRALIA. 11 



collected on this journey by Dr. Wheeler and Dr. J. Murray, were 

 recorded by Mueller in vol. 3 of the " Fragmenta. " 



"Wild Flowers of South Australia," by Miss F. E. De Mole; with 

 20 colored plates, was published at Adelaide in 1861. This work is 

 probably very rare ; the Adelaide Public Library possesses a copy. 



Dr. Richard S\3homburgk, director of the Adelaide Botanic Gardens, 

 wrote a "Flora of South Australia" in 1875, to accompany Harcus's 

 ' k South Australia.' ' It consists of an introductory essay, followed 

 by a list of species, without descriptions, and compiled from the 

 ' k Flora Australiensis. 



Ernest Giles led an expedition westward in 1875, through Ooldea 

 (orginally written "Youldeh") and Ouldabinna, across the West 

 Australian border and the Great Victoria Desert. W. H. Tietkens 

 and J. Young collected plants on this journey. In the following 

 year Giles returned, starting from the Ashburton River, keeping a 

 northerly route through the desert, and entering South Australia 

 again near the Musgrave Range. The important botanical results were 

 dealt with by Mueller in the Journal of Botany, vol. ]5 (1877). 



The first volume of the "Flora Australiensis" was published in 

 London in 1863. This great undertaking, "published under the 

 authority of the several Governments of the Australian colonies," was 

 entrusted to George Bentham. He and Sir Joseph Hooker (his 

 collaborator in that other gigantic work, the "Genera plantarum"), 

 were the two most illustrious English botanists of the day. Besides 

 the copious material supplied from Australia by Mueller and others, 

 Bentham had at his disposal the vast accumulation of Australian 

 plants preserved in London and other European cities since the days 

 when the first collections were brought home by Sir Joseph Banks 

 and Dr. Solander in 1771. It was fortunate that so great a task was 

 confided to so great a botanist. After 15 years of unremitting labor 

 the seventh and last volume was issued in 1878. No less than 1,400 

 genera and 8,168 species were described with a clearness and 

 thoroughness for which all subsequent students have reason to be 

 grateful. Bentham, who was born in 1800, died in 1884. 



Charles Winnecke explored the Stuart Range in 1885, and a list 

 of his plants was published bv Mueller in the Transactions of the 

 Royal Society of S.A., vol. 8 (1886). 



The Elder scientific exploring expedition of 1891-92 collected 

 largely in South and West Australia. David Lindsay was the leader 

 and R. Helms the botanical collector. Starting from Warrina on 

 May 2, 1891, the party ascended the Arkaringa Creek, visited the 

 Everard, Musgrave, Birksgate, and Tomkinson Ranges, and crossed 

 the border into West Australia about the end of July. The flowering 

 plants and ferns were recorded by Mueller and Tate in Trans. Roy. 

 Soc, S.A., part 3 of vol. 16 (1896). Duplicates of this fine collection 

 are preserved in the Tate Herbarium. Helms was born at Altona in 

 1842 and died in New South Wales in 1914. 



Ralph Tate arrived in 1875 as the first professor of natural history 

 in the University of Adelaide. His work covered zoology in all its 

 branches, botany, and geology. The numerous botanical papers which 

 he read before the Royal Society of South Australia testify to his 

 keen interest in that science, which he advanced, not only by his 

 studies in the cabinet, but by his activity in the field as a collector. 

 There are few parts of Smith Australia which he did not visit, and 



