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From John Mason to Ferdinand von Mueller   18 Sep 1876

Baron Von Mueller

Belfast1

18th Septr. 1876

Dear Sir

I enclose herewith a specimen of a plant found on the hummocks here, its first appearance was about three years since and it continues to spread through the sand down to the margin of the sea, and promises to cover in a short time the whole of the sand patches on the coast, the specimen sent has the flower and also the seed vessells and as it may be of some importance to residents on the sea side in other parts of the colony, I will feel obliged in the interests of the public if you will inform me what the botanical name is and any properties it may posess and especially if it is a plant likely to be used in stopping the ravages of the sand on the coast

Yours faithfully

John Mason

1

Now Port Fairy, Vic.

2

MS found with a specimen of Cakile edentula (MEL 1004017). Annotated by M: 'Answ 20/9/76 F.v.M.'; see the newspaper report published here as M to J. Mason, 20 September 1876 (in this edition as 76-09-20a).

Please cite as “FVM-76-09-18,” 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 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/vonmueller/letters/76-09-18