1889. J. H. Maiden, `Useful Native Plants,' p. 192:
"Bottle Gourd. This plant, so plentiful along the tropical coast of Queensland, is said to be a dangerous poison. It is said that some sailors were killed by drinking beer that had been standing for some time in a bottle formed of one of these fruits. (F. M. Bailey.)"
<hw>Bottle-Swallow</hw>, <i>n</i>. a popular name for the bird <i>Lagenoplastis ariel</i>, otherwise called the <i>Fairy Martin</i>. See <i>Martin</i>. The name refers to the bird's peculiar retort shaped nest. <i>Lagenoplashs</i> is from the Greek <i>lagaenos</i>, a flagon, and <i>plautaes</i>, a modeller. The nests are often constructed in clusters under rocks or the eaves of buildings. The bird is widely distributed in Australia, and has occurred in Tasmania.
<hw>Bottle-tree</hw>, <i>n</i>. an Australian tree, various species of <i>Sterculia</i>, i.q. <i>Kurrajong</i> (q.v.). So named 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-wine bottle, 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 true bottle-tree, a strange-looking unseemly tree, which swells slightly four to five feet high, and then tapers rapidly into a small diameter; the foliage is thin, the crown scanty and irregular, the leaves lanceolate, of a greyish green; the height of the whole tree is about forty-five feet."
1865. Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods, `History of the Discovery and Exploration of Australia,' vol. i. p. 127:
"It was on this range (Lat. 26 degrees, 42') that Mitchell saw the bottle-tree for the first time. It grew like an enormous pear-shaped turnip, with only a small portion of the root in the ground."