"Pachycephala rufiventris, <i>Latham</i>. `Rufous-breasted
Thickhead.' . . . Also known as the `Thunder-bird.'"
<hw>Thunder-dirt</hw>, <i>n</i>. In New Zealand, a gelatinous covering of a fungus (<i>Ileodictyon cibarium</i>) formerly eaten by the Maoris.
<hw>Thylacine</hw>, and <hw>Thylacinus</hw>, <i>n</i>. the scientific name of the genus of the animal called variously the <i>Tasmanian Tiger</i> (q.v.), <i>Hyaena</i>, <i>Tasmanian Wolf</i>, <i>Zebra Wolf</i>, and <i>Marsupial Wolf</i>. The first spelling is the Anglicised form of the word. (Grk. <i>thulakos</i>, a pouch, and <i>kuown</i>, a dog.)
1894. R. Lydekker, `Marsupialia,' p. 153:
"The Thylacine appears to be generally found among caverns and rocks and the deep and almost impenetrable glens in the neighbourhood of the highest mountains of Tasmania."
<hw>Ti</hw>, <i>n</i>. the name of various species of trees of the genus <i>Cordyline</i>, <i>N.O. Liliaceae</i>. It exists in the Pacific Islands as <i>C. Ti</i>, and in New Zealand the species are <i>C. australis</i> and <i>C. indivisa</i>. It is called in New Zealand the <i>Cabbage-tree</i> (q.v.), and the heart used to be eaten by the settlers. The word is Polynesian. In Hawaiian, the form is <i>Ki</i>; in Maori, <i>Ti</i>. Compare <i>Kanaka</i> (q.v.) and <i>Tangata</i>. By confusion, <i>Tea</i>, in <i>Tea-tree</i> (q.v.), is frequently spelt <i>Ti</i>, and <i>Tea-tree</i> is sometimes spelt <i>Ti-tri</i> (q.v.).
1845. E. J. Wakefield, `Adventures in New Zealand,' vol. i. p. 58:
"In these natural shrubberies, too, and especially in wet situations, a kind of cabbage-tree, called ti by the natives, flourishes to great abundance."
1855. Rev. R. Taylor,' Te Ika a Maui,' p. 435:
"The ti (<i>Cordyline australis</i> or <i>Dracoena australis</i>) is found in great abundance. Though so common, it has a very foreign look . . . the leaf is that of a flag, the flower forms a large droop and is very fragrant."