Ferdinand von Mueller

1

MS found with a specimen of Excoecaria agalocha (MEL 232335).

Botanic Garden Brisbane

27th January 1862

Dear Dr Mueller

I received yours with the drawing of

Codonocarpus australis

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all safe. I fear however I will not be able to pay a visit to the locality for three weeks as there are a good deal of road making and the grounds round our new Government going in and it requires me to stope it hence I am in hopes however to do a good deal this year in collecting. I enclose you a small peice (you will get a better specimen afterwards) of a very interesting tree found in the scrubs in the Burnett. It is called the poison tree,

2

MS annotation by M: 'Excoecaria'.

in habit and growth it resembles the Figs and has been taken for one. I collected young plants 4 years ago and planted them in the Garden and they are now producing flowers of which the enclosed is one the large trees I have cut down frequently but could never get any flowers. I suffered sev[erely] for two days with a [great] burning pain of both of my eyes in fact I was nearly blind by the juce or milky fluid that went into my ey when I was cutting the tree. I hear that one person has lost his sight of one of his eyes by the juce of this plant the tree growes to the hight of 60 to 70 feet and about 15 inches in dimater. I shall send you a better specimen by & by hoping it may be intresting to you