I sent the drawing to the great specialist, Dr. Cooke, pointing out that the fungus was near Clavaria Amethystina, but differed somewhat in colour, and suggested the name C. lilarina. He, however, regards it as the real species of Fries.1 It is new to Tasmania, indeed to Australia, so perhaps it is worthy of notice at your Royal Society, if it was only to show that fungi need yet much to be studied there.
Clavaria Amethystina
Clavaria lilarina
M's exchange with Cooke not found; see, however, M. Cooke to M, 17 January 1885.
Letter not found. For the text given here, see Mercury (Hobart),15 August 1884, p. 3, in a report of a meeting of the Royal Society of Tasmania held on 11 August. It is dated to early August as the latest that it could have been sent to be reported at this meeting. The extract is preceded by
Mr. Stevens said he had drawn the attention of Baron Von Mueller to a beautiful light purple fungus which had been found on the slopes of Mount Wellington. The fungus being too fragile to bring into town, a drawing made by Miss Walker, of Rhodes, N. S. W., had been forwarded to the Baron who had identified it as a species of Clavaria and had since sent the following note on the subject:
Please cite as “FVM-84-08-00d,” 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