Cape Otway Lighthouse
July 25 1870
My Dear Dr Mueller
I herewith forward a sprig of a young [Stinking Bay] tree1 that I have just obtained by a friend coming from Apollo Bay.
With best respects
I remain
yours truly
H. [B]. Ford
No native Lauraceae with a tree habit are recorded from Victoria and the reading is uncertain; however, Laurus nobilis was planted as an exotic and it is possible that Ford obtained such a specimen, perhaps a garden escape (VicFlora, accessed 18 August 2022), although its odour is not usually described as unpleasant. No record of a Henry Ford specimen has been found at MEL.
Please cite as “FVM-70-07-25c,” in Correspondence of Ferdinand von Mueller, edited by R.W. Home, Thomas A. Darragh, A.M. Lucas, Sara Maroske, D.M. Sinkora†, J.H. Voigt† and Monika Wells accessed on