["J. Cross."—Baron Sir F. von Mueller identifies the plant you send as the Cassytha Melantha, a native of extra-tropical Australia. It is not likely to cause any mischief by spreading.]1
Cassytha Melantha
The item includes a description by Cross of the habit of the plant, a 'mass of cord-like fibres' with no roots and spreading from tree to tree.
Letter not found. The text given here is from 'The Yeoman. Answers to correspondents', Australasian (Melbourne), 29 December 1894, p. 1153. Assuming that the reply would be published in the next available issue in this weekly newspaper, it is dated to 21 December 1894 as the likely earliest date it would have been sent.
Please cite as “FVM-94-12-21a,” 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