n.
The Oak of the Northern Hemisphere( Quercus) is not found among the indigenous treesof Australia; but the name Oak is applied there tothe trees of the genus Casuarina (q.v.), and usuallyin the curious form of She-Oak (q.v.). The specieshave various appellations in various parts, such as Swamp-Oak, River-Oak, Bull-Oak, Desert-Oak; and even the word He-Oak is appliedsometimes to the more imposing species of She-Oak,though it is not recognised by Maiden, whilst the word Native Oak is indiscriminately applied to them all.
The word Oak is further extended to a few trees, not Casuarinae, given below; and in New Zealand it is alsoapplied to Matipo (q.v.) and Titoki, or Alectryon (q.v.).
The following table of the various trees receiving the name of
Oak is compiled from J. H. Maiden's `Useful Native Plants' – –
♣ Bull-Oak – – Casuarina equisetifolia, Forst.; C. glauca, Sieb.
♣ Forest-O. – – Casuarina equisetifolia, Forst.; C. suberosa; Otto and Diet.; C. torulosa, Ait.
♣ Mountain-O. – – Queensland name for Casuarina torulosa, Ait.
♣ River Black-O. – – Casuarina suberosa, Otto and Diet.
♣ River-O. – – Callistemon salignus, De C., N.O. Myrtaceae; Casuarina cunninghamii, Miq.; C. distyla, Vent.; C. stricta, Ait.; C. torulosa, Ait.
♣ Scrub Silky-O. – – Villaresia moorei, F. v. M., N.O. Olacineae.Called also Maple.
♣ She-Oak: – – Coast S. – O. – – Casuarina stricta,
♣ Desert S. – 0. – – C. glauca, Sieb.
♣ Erect S. – O. – – C. suberosa, Otto and Diet.
♣ River S. – O. – – C. glauca, Sieb.
♣ Scrub S. – O. – – C. cunninghamii, Miq.
♣ Stunted S. – O. – – C. distyla, Vent.
♣ Shingle-O. – – Casuarina stricta, Ait.; C. suberosa, Otto and Diet.
♣ Silky-O. – – Stenocarpus salignus, R. Br., N.O. Proteaceae;called also Silvery-Oak. See also Grevilleaand Silky-Oak.
♣ Swamp-O. – – Casuarina equisetifolia, Forst.; C. glauca, Sieb.; C. suberosa, Otto and Diet.; C. stricta, Ait.; called also Saltwater Swamp-Oak.
♣ White-O. – – Lagunaria patersoni, G. Don., N.O. Malvaceae.
Botany-Bay Oak, or Botany-Oak, is the name givenin the timber trade to the Casuarina .
The `Melbourne Museum Catalogue of Economic Woods' (1894)classes the She-Oak in four divisions – – Desert She-Oak – – Casuarina glauca, Sieb.
♣ Drooping S. – O. – – C. quadrivalvis, Labill.
♣ Shrubby S. – O. – – C. distyla, Vent.
♣ Straight S. – O. – – C. suberosa, Otto.
1770. Captain Cook, `Journal,' Sunday, May 6 (edition Wharton,1893, pp. 247, 248):
«The great quantity of plants Mr. Banks and Dr. Solanderfound in this place occasioned my giving it the name of BotanyBay. . . . Although wood is here in great plenty, yet thereis very little Variety; . . . Another sort that grows talland Strait something like Pines – – the wood of this is hard andPonderous, and something of the Nature of America live Oak.»
1770. R. Pickersgill, `Journal on the Endeavour' (in`Historical Records of New South Wales'), p. 215:
«May 5, 1770. – – We saw a wood which has a grain like Oak,and would be very durable if used for building; the leavesare like a pine leaf.»
1802. Jas. Flemming, `Journal of Explorations of CharlesGrimes,' in `Historical Records of Port Phillip' (edition1879, J. J. Shillinglaw), p. 22:
«The land is a light, black-sand pasture, thin of timber,consisting of gum, oak, Banksia, and thorn.»
[This combination of timbers occurs several times in the`Journal.' It is impossible to decide what Mr. Flemming meantby Oak.]
1839. T. L. Mitchell, `Three Expeditions,' vol. i. p. 38:
«We found lofty blue-gum trees ( Eucalyptus) growing onthe flats near the Peel, whose immediate banks were overhung bythe dense, umbrageous foliage of the casuarina, or `river-oak'of the colonists.»
1845. J. O. Balfour, `Sketch of New South Wales,' p. 38:
«The river-oak grows on the banks and rivers, and having thickfoliage, forms a pleasant and useful shade for cattle duringthe heat of the day; it is very hard and will not split. Thetimber resembles in its grain the English oak, and is the onlywood in the colony well adapted for making felloes of wheels,yokes for oxen, and staves for casks.»
1846. C. Holtzapffel, `Turning,' p. 75:
«Botany-Bay Oak, sometimes called Beef-wood, is from New SouthWales. . . . In general colour it resembles a full red mahogany,with darker red veins.»
1860. G. Bennett, `Gatherings of a Naturalist,' p. 323:
«The Casuarina trees, with their leafless, thin,thread-like, articulated branches, have been compared to thearborescent horse-tails ( Equisetaceae), but have a muchgreater resemblance to the Larch-firs; they have the colonialname of Oaks, which might be changed more appropriately to thatof Australian firs. The dark, mournful appearance of this treecaused it to be planted in cemeteries. The flowers areunisexual; the fruit consists of hardened bracts with wingedseeds. The wood of this tree is named Beef-wood by thecolonists.»
1862. H. C. Kendall, `Poems,' p. 56:
«The wail in the native oak.»
1878. W. R. Guilfoyle, `First Book of Australian Botany,'p. 54:
«It may here be remarked that the term `oak' has been veryinaptly – – in fact ridiculously – – applied by the early Australiansettlers; notably in the case of the various species of Casuarina, which are commonly called `she-oaks.»
1880. Fison and Howitt, `Kamilaroi and Kurnai,' p. 252:
«They chose a tall He-oak, lopped it to a point.»
1885. J. Hood, `Land of the Fern,' p. 53:
«The sighing of the native oak,
Which the light wind whispered through.»
1892. A. Sutherland, `Elementary Geography of BritishColonies,' p. 27:
«A peculiar class of trees, called by the scientific name of Casuarina, is popularly known as oaks, `swamp-oaks,'`forest-oaks,' `she-oaks,' and so forth, although the treesare not the least like oaks. They are melancholy lookingtrees, with no proper leaves, but only green rods, like thoseof a pine-tree, except that they are much longer, and hang likethe branches of a weeping-willow.»