To Thomas Anderson   24 February 1866

24/2/66

Dear Dr Anderson

By this months mail steamer I beg to send you a parcel with Corypha seeds fresh collected. Our species (Corypha or Livistona Australis) will stand occasional frosts & is next Areca sapida the most southern palm, having been discovered by me as far South as 37° 30' & yet there 80' high It would succeed in colder parts of India, where your palms will not grow. Perhaps you like also to send some seeds to Britain. The native trees of Corypha are now almost extinct.¹

I send you also seeds of my 2 new genera of Proteaceae, Cardwellia & Darlingia, noble trees of N. E. Australia, which ought to prosper in your clime, like wise some other tree seeds of Queensland. Pray let me thank you for the other noble invoice of Deodar pineseeds I just receive. Some day you may be here to enjoy a sight of the multitude of noble pines you thus enable us successively to raise & of which we can never have too many . Shall I send you Eucalyptus seeds? In looking over D.C. Quercus² I long much to have as many of the noble Indian species as possible.

The illustrious Asa Gray has sent me acorns of many American oaks & I have most of the mediterranian, but among Indian oaks only Quercus lanata!! & of this only one young imported plant, brought from Europe! I certainly do not wish to be immodest, but it occurs to me, that perhaps acorns of many of your oaks are readily accessible to you or perhaps you would kindly point out, how they could be procured.

I owe you plants for the herbarium since a long time. In fact I have run into debt with A Gray, Regel, Miquel, Thwaites & other friends likewise. The acquisition of Dr Steetzs herbarium & now of Drummonds herbarium³ has taken for arrangement that little time which I otherwise could have devoted in selecting spare plants from the general collection. Bentham pushes me also for material & so I have to finish the preliminary work on Compositae first. But rest assured sooner or later my debts (all incurred for the department) will be redeemed. Your Indian plants have proved already highly valuable in comparison to North Australian plants. I send you the 36 No of my Fragmenta⁴ by this mail. If any number is wanting pray let me know.

[…]⁵ of creation & absorbs all my time nearly & then Board meetings, Correspondence & literary work together with extraduties such as the intercolonial Exhibition Leichhardt search involves take away the rest.

In Mr Kurz you have evidently acquired a valuable museum assistant

Ever your

Ferd Mueller

Have you a plant of Buddleya Asiatica⁶ to spare? I find these Buddleyas, which strike so well from cuttings & grow so quickly my main stronghold for supplying shrubs to cemeteries, school & church reserves, but have not B. Asiatica

Areca sapida

Buddleya Asiatica

Cardwellia

Compositae

Corypha Australis

Darlingia

Deodar

Eucalyptus

Livistona Australis

Proteaceae

Quercus lanata