First Fleet artwork collection

Detail of a branch from a tree or shrub with leaves and seed cases, against a plain background. The branch is brown and forks into three sections. There are four clusters of brown, round seed cases with darker ringed centres arranged along the branch. The leaves are green, long and narrowly linear. There is a separate detail of both sides of an individual leaf at lower left. The drawing is signed by Watling and annotated in brown ink, in possibly two different hands.

• Thomas Watling]
• The drawing is inscribed in blue pencil at top right with the number "378", which refers to the pre-1984 numbering system for the Watling Collection.
• The drawing is annotated in brown ink at bottom left, beneath a detail of the leaves, "Back and foreside of a leaf Natural size.", and at bottom "Grows to the Height of 10 or 12 Feet and very rare or uncommon".
• The drawing is signed at lower centre "T. Watling, delt.", but is undated.
• The author of this catalogue record is Suzanne Stenning.
• By permission of the trustees of the Natural History Museum (London)
• Two sets of transparencies held in the Natural History Museum (London) Zoology Library and Picture Library: Picture Library reference number 12443
• James Lee of Kensington : purchased ; 1902
• Data sheet available