To Joseph Hooker   7 November 1871

Melbourne bot. Garden

7/11/71.

 

Did you learn, dear Dr Hooker, while you were on the Atlas, about the existence of a perennial melon, which sends its roots very deep into the ground and produces a fruit with long thorns It is said to grow in N.W. Africa, and I should imagine, that it must be between the Atlas and Senegal in the western tracts of the Sahara.1

I fancy that this plant, which is much relished by the negroes, would be of advantage for Australian deserts, as cattle &c would not destroy it.

With best regards

Ferd. von Mueller

1
No response to this request has been found. Hooker visited Morocco and climbed the Atlas Mountains in April-May 1871.

Please cite as “FVM-71-11-07,” 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 29 April 2024, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/vonmueller/letters/71-11-07