It may interest your readers that Eucalyptus seeds show an unexpected tenacity of life. I took from my dried plants of Eucalyptus miniata seeds, which were for experiment gathered in 1867. They were committed to the care of Mr. Will. Elliott, one of our best horticulturists, and he had the satisfaction to see nearly every grain germinate. It is possible that the seeds of E. miniata may retain their vitality longer than those of the species with smaller seed grain; still, this unexpected fact is interesting. My former experience led me to think that Eucalyptus seeds germinate better when stored for a short time than when quite fresh, the embryo undergoing probably at last still some final maturation. E. miniata is as gorgeous a species as E. phoenicia,1 both having the fiery blossoms of a Callistemon, and produce for a much longer succession of weeks their flowers than the splended2 E. ficifolia.
Eucalyptus ficifolia
Eucalyptus miniata
Eucalyptus phoenicia
Please cite as “FVM-80-05-00d,” 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