Peter Forsskål has received Linnaeus’s letter of 15 January [this letter has not come down to us]. It is a pity Linnaeus’s letter with his report on Nils Wallerius’s opposition [Forsskål refers to Prænotionum theologicarum pars quarta] is still missing [this letter has not come down to us]. It would certainly enjoy Forsskål to read his new accusations.
Linnaeus’s letter has arrived by sea via Cairo, Suez, Gedda to Godeide in Yemen.
Forsskål now knows the genus Opobalsam, the tree grows in Yemen but he is not allowed to write about it in private letters; he will do so from Mocca in a sealed letter. He can, however, intimate that it is not Pistacia, nor is it Lentiscus, but one of Patrik Browne’s genera.
The fact that many letters are lost on the way must not make Linnaeus hesitate about writing to Forsskål. In his exposed situation, letters are extremely valuable and welcome. Letters should be sent both via Livorno to Alexandria and via Constantinople to Bassora.
There must be seeds of Zygophyllum proliferum among Roque’s [Forsskål means Bartolomo Giambattista Ronco] seeds.
No wonder that Linnaeus has not received Forsskål’s Egyptian seeds. They have made a long detour: from Livorno to Constantinople and back to Livorno! He sent new seeds in July 1762 [the enclosed letter has not come down to us] from Cairo to Livorno. Among the new species Forsskål mentions: Mesembryanthemum nudiflorum, Carum carvi, Zygophyllum, Anethum, Nigella, Daucus carota, Melia azedarach, Carduus Mariae (Syriacus), Trifolium alexandrinum, Ammi officinale.
The new genus Suaeda may be Lerchea Halleri.
Forsskål cannot understand Daniel Solander’s view of Yemen.
The mountains here are as high as the Swiss Alps, but the climate is different. A few Swedish plants grow there, but not the ones in the Swedish mountains.
Forsskål has sent a manuscript in Latin, ready for printing, from Egypt to Adam Gottlob Moltke, with characters and names of all the new specimens of naturalia: 17 new genera of plants, one new genus of Torpedo (not Raja), numerous worms, 170 new species of plants, answers to Linnaeus’s questions, together with the flora of Alexandria and Cairo. Forsskål is grateful if Linnaeus can protect the manuscripts from being exploited by envious Danes.
Yemen is a safe country, and it has yielded numerous new plants. Forsskål reminds Linnaeus that Johann David Michaelis should be honored for this project. Forsskål sends his best wishes to Johan Peter Falck and all patrons and friends and hopes that his family, his father [Johannes Forsskål], brother [Jonas Gustaf Forsskål] and sister [Johanna Katarina Albom], is regularly informed about his whereabouts. He has abandoned his plan to go to the Cape. He is tired of sacrificing himself to science when he can see that malevolent people in Denmark try to thwart his work. His aim is to write a natural history of Yemen, and that is enough for him.
P. S. Forsskål has had no news from his father since he left Denmark. He collects insects but has not time to describe them. It is hard to outrun butterflies in hot countries and steep mountains. The heat is, however, not so difficult as one might consider in Sweden. In Yemen one can make visits in just the shirt or semi nude if you want to. You can always to sleep in the shade during the hottest time of the day. Forsskål welcomes news from Uppsala, Sweden and Denmark. Forsskål arrived in Yemen from Gedda on 29 December 1762. He has already seen most plants here and does not need to stay much longer.