bottle-tree

Dictionary of Australasian Words Phrases and Usages by Edward E. Morris

n. an Australian tree, variousspecies of Sterculia, i.q. Kurrajong (q.v.). Sonamed from its appearance. See quotations.


1846. C. P. Hodgson, `Reminiscences of Australia,' p. 264:

«The sterculia, or bottle-tree, is a very singular curiosity.It generally varies in shape between a soda-water and port-winebottle, narrow at the basis, gradually widening at the middle,and tapering towards the neck.»

1848. L. Leichhardt, Letter in `Cooksland, by J. D. Lang,p. 91:

«The most interesting tree of this Rosewood Brush is the truebottle-tree, a strange-looking unseemly tree, which swellsslightly four to five feet high, and then tapers rapidly into asmall diameter; the foliage is thin, the crown scanty andirregular, the leaves lanceolate, of a greyish green; theheight of the whole tree is about forty-five feet.»

1865. Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods, `History of the Discovery andExploration of Australia,' vol. i. p. 127:

«It was on this range (Lat. 26 degrees, 42') that Mitchell sawthe bottle-tree for the first time. It grew like an enormouspear-shaped turnip, with only a small portion of the root inthe ground.»

1889. J. H. Maiden, `Useful Native Plants,' p. 60:

«A `Kurrajong.' The `Bottle-tree' of N.E. Australia, and alsocalled `Gouty-stem,' on account of the extraordinary shape ofthe trunk. It is the `Binkey' of the aboriginals.

«The stem abounds in a mucilaginous substance resembling puretragacanth, which is wholesome and nutritious, and is said tobe used as an article of food by the aborigines in cases ofextreme need. A similar clear jelly is obtainable by pouringboiling water on chips of the wood.»

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