To Henry Deane   5 March 1887

5/3/87¹

Your sending of Atherosperma moschatum from the Blue Mountains,² dear Mr Deane, is very interesting; at all events I think that it is this species, the geographic range of which was thought to be limited north-eastward to the base of Mt Kosciusko and the Genoa River,³ where I met the tree myself; hence it became recorded already for N.S.W. in my 'systematic Census of Australian plants'. To render the identification absolutely safe, I would advise to revisit the place of discovery in early spring, when the staminate and pistillate flowers will be developed. Your locality is the only one, where the Victorian and N.S.W. Sassafras-trees meet. Atherosperma moschatum is found occasionally also monaecious. You might, after obtaining the flowers as confirmatory material, write a short article on this discovery of yours for the R.S. or L.S.⁴ of N.S.Wales, especially as you noticed also a second locality for Pherosphaera Fitzgeraldi, and could give fuller information on height, stature &c of that rare tree. If some ripe fruits of it could be obtained, I should be thankful for them, also for a piece of wood, so as to enable me to examine the anatomic structure.

At such particular place rare mosses and lichens may also occur and perhaps minute mosslike ferns.

Regardfully your

Ferd. von Mueller.

Mr Duff found Atherosperma moschatum on one of the sources of the Lachlan River,⁵ I do not know which.

The true Melaleuca parviflora forms always a very tall bush or small tree; so yours may be actually a new species; in that case I will name it after you. I am very glad, that you became a Linnean; well did you deserve the distinction. In a few years the Society will celebrate its centenary jubilee!

A good supply of ♂ and ♀ branchlets of Pherosphaera, carefully pressed and dried, would be a great acquisition for herbarium-interchanges. I should like also more specimens of Haloragis salsoloides (dried) ♂ & ♀. Dr Woolls and Mr Haviland know one locality of this plant, which exists hardly in any museum-collections; probably it occurs still on several places

Atherosperma moschatum

Haloragis salsoloides

Melaleuca parviflora

Pherosphaera Fitzgeraldi