From John Brown1    11 November 1879

Wirrabara Forest Reserve 11/11/79.

Dear Sir Ferdinand,

I am doing all I can for you with regard to E. Behriana2 and hope to write you in reference to this matter in the course of a day or two; meantime, however, I wish to get the name from you of a tree which I find is very numerous in this Forest. I describe it as follows:—

The Bark. This is somewhat persistent but not generally so. It falls off in long "flakes" of about 3 ft. deciduous bark smooth and of a light grey colored.

Foliage — generally somewhat drooping.

Flower — both red and white.

Timber. of a pinkish-blue colour, of good quality and breaks with with long fractures; timber heavier than E. rostrata.

Size of Tree: average 2ft. diameter and from 50 to 80 ft. in height. Largest specimen seen about 45 inches in diameter.

Soil on which found: on various soils and situations: generally best timber on dry iron-stone ridges.

I send you branchlet of the tree showing expanded flowers, buds, and ripe fruit; also the different barks as marked.

From your description in "Bentham" I would take the tree to be E. leucoxylon. Is it this?

It is here called both "Pink Gum" and "Blue Gum".

I am anxious to have the tree known by its Botanical name, and a line from you as to this will much oblige.

Yours very truly

J. E. Brown

 

Baron F. Von Mueller K.C.M.G.

Government Botanist.

Melbourne.

 

Eucalyptus Behriana

Eucalyptus leucoxylon

 
MS annotation by M: 'Answ 17/11/79.' Letter not found.
See also J. Brown to M, 28 October 1879.

Please cite as “FVM-79-11-11b,” 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 28 March 2024, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/vonmueller/letters/79-11-11b