Document information

Physical location:

Bibliothèque de l'Institut de France, Paris. 75.01.26b

Preferred Citation:

Ferdinand von Mueller to Joseph Decaisne, 1875-01-26 [75.01.26b]. R.W. Home, Thomas A. Darragh, A.M. Lucas, Sara Maroske, D.M. Sinkora, J.H. Voigt and Monika Wells (eds), Correspondence of Ferdinand von Mueller, <https://vmcp.rbg.vic.gov.au/id//letters/1870-9/1875/75-01-26b-final.odt>, accessed June 9, 2026

Melbourne
26/1/75
Allow me, dear Prof. DeCaisne, to send you a few seeds of Casuarina DeCaisneana
1
C. decaisneana?
gathered by M. Giles in his last Expedition.
2
Ernest Giles; he returned to Adelaide in July 1874 from the expedition on which Alfred Gibson was lost and was then engaged in survey work near Fowler's Bay (SA) at the request of Sir Thomas Elder before commencing a journey north from Fowler's Bay to Beltana (SA) on 13 March 1875 (E. Giles (1889), vol. 2, passim).
Insects have partly destroyed these seeds, but some have yet the embryo uninjured. We now know this grand Casuarina as existing very widely in Central Australia, where it is one of the very few trees affording shade. This species would prove a very valuable acquisition for the Sahara.
Very regardfully yrs
Ferd. von Mueller
Casuarina DeCaisneana