Document information

Physical location:

86.12.00l

Preferred Citation:

Ferdinand von Mueller to Maxwell Masters, 1886-12 [86.12.00l]. 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/1880-9/1886/86-12-00l-final.odt>, accessed June 13, 2026

1
Letter not found. The text given here is from 'Cordyceps taylori. A fungus parasitic upon an Australian caterpillar', Gardeners' chronicle, 26 February 1887, p. 288. Since it had been received 'a few weeks ago', the letter is dated to late December 1886 as the latest likely date that it was sent.
[ A FEW weeks ago a valued correspondent of the Gardeners' Chronicle , Baron von Mueller, sent to Dr. Masters from Victoria the rare and remarkable fungus illustrated in fig. 62.]
2
The article, by Worthington Smith, discusses the history of the discovery of the species and considers its structure and its relationship to other vegetable caterpillars. Smith wrote 'Baron von Mueller's example of Cordyceps Taylori was unfortunately not perfectly mature, but it was sufficiently mature to enable me to give an illustration (possibly for the first time) of the microscopic fruit, which is perhaps the most wonderful part of the fungus'.
At about the same time, M sent another specimen to California; see M to H. Harkness, January 1887 (in this edition as 87-01-00e).