Ferdinand von Mueller

1

Found with a specimen of Orchidaceae (MEL 604629). MS annotation by M: 'Answ 29/11/81'. Letter not found.

Memorandum

Dear Sir

In haste I forward you a Box containing cut flowers No 1 with green spike is an Orchid (or I think so) I had from New Caledonia and which I certainly am disappointed in being merely of Botanical interest. No 2 is a beautiful flower springing up from the ground from a sort of spathe with no foliage lasting 2 or 3 days there are probably 10 or 12 flowers contained in this spathe probably more, as the flower fades up comes another. the foliage evidently comes after blooming as when I got the plant it had large foliage like a Calanthe or Bletia Tankervilliae

4

B. tankervilleae?

(Phaius grandiflora

5

P. grandiflorus?

of late date) I dont know where it originally came from. the roots are tuberose not exactly like a Dahlia but the roots spring from a crown thin and then swell at the buds to tubers something like the plant I forget this moment but what in common parlance is called native Yams blooming now in the commons with blue flowers or perhaps a purple proper spikes 1/6

6

1 foot 6 inches?

to 2 ft some less with fringed flowers — You will greatly oblige me by naming them for me if you can by the specimens I send you I may say that the green spike has flowered all the way up for about 5 inches but it did not occur to me to send it and Ive been so busy with rectifying what the flood & hail has done for me — dreadfully Damaged Everything

7

'The full force of the storm on Tuesday evening seems to have been felt at Hawthorn and Kew … In several places in Kew yesterday morning [Wednesday] the hail was about 2ft. deep where it had accumulated the night previous. Great loss has been inflicted upon the market gardeners…' (Argus (Mebourne), 17 November 1881, p. 5).

— allow me Dear Baron to thank you very much for the few seeds you very kindly sent me with very kind regards

PS. the Season has been so dreadfully dry in Queensland no rain since april that Mr Shaw could only collect a very few sorts of Orchids — untill the weather breaks up he sent me Dendrobe Caniculatum

8

Dendrobium canaliculatum?

covered with flower & some good plants of D. undulatum and a Cymbidium in fruit —