[" D.B.D." (Balranald1).—1. The grass received from you is identified by Baron Von Mueller as the Panicum sanguinale, vernacularly known as fingergrass. It is indigenous in Southern Europe and Southern Asia, from whence it found its way into Eastern Australia, and thus also into our colony. Wherever it makes its appearance it is welcomed for pasturage. It maintains ground fairly well, is relished by herds and flocks, and seeds sufficiently freely for further dispersion. 2. The herb is the Tribulus terrestris. It is indigenous from S. Europe to the warm regions of Asia, and extends naturally to Australia. The prickly fruit renders the plant very obnoxious to the feet of pasture animals. Very likely this Tribulus has injurious qualities, because I have shown that in poison cases on some pastures of North-Western Australia the Tribulus platypturus2 did the mischief.3 As T. terrestris is either an annual or only of short individual duration it can be subdued by sowing early in the cool season, at the places of the growth of this noxious plant, the seed of the best local indigenous pasture grasses and fodder herbs, along with the well-known strong rural sorts of Europe. In Greece in ancient times the Tribulus stood in medicinal renown.]
Panicum sanguinale
Tribulus platypturus
Tribulus terrestris
NSW.
Typesetter's error for Tribulus platypterus?
M to Gardeners' Chronicle, July 1885 (B85.08.01).
Letter not found. The text given here is from 'The Yeoman. Answers to correspondents', Australasian (Melbourne), 11 April 1896, p. 677. Assuming that the reply would be published in the next available issue in this weekly newspaper, it is dated to 3 April 1896 as the likely earliest date it would have been sent.
Please cite as “FVM-96-04-03c,” 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