Wirrabara Forest Reserve 11/11/79.
Dear Sir Ferdinand,
I am doing all I can for you with regard to E. Behriana1 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.2 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
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