Austral English / A dictionary of Australasian words, phrases and usages with those aboriginal-Australian and Maori words which have become incorporated in the language, and the commoner scientific words that have had their origin in Australasia

by Edward Ellis Morris

1883. J. Hector, `Handbook of New Zealand, p. 129:

"Horopito, pepper-tree, winter's bark. A small slender evergreen tree, very handsome. Whole plant aromatic and stimulant; used by the Maoris for various diseases. Wood very ornamental in cabinet-work."

1889. T. Kirk, `Forest Flora of New Zealand,' p. 1:

"The Horopito, or pepper-tree of the settlers, is an ornamental shrub or small tree occurring in woods, on the margin of which it is sometimes found in great abundance."

<hw>Horse-Mackerel</hw>, <i>n</i>. The name is applied in Sydney to the fish <i>Auxis ramsayi</i>, Castln., family <i>Scombridae</i>. In New Zealand it is <i>Caranx</i> (or <i>Trachurus) trachurus</i>, Cuv. and Val., which is the same fish as the Horse-Mackerel of England. This is called <i>Yellow-tail</i> on the Australian coasts. See <i>Trevally</i>.

<hw>Horseradish-tree</hw>, <i>n</i>. name given to <i>Codonocarpus cotinifolius</i>, F. v. M., <i>N.O. Phytolaceae</i>.

1889. J. H. Maiden, `Useful Native Plants,' p. 164:

"`Quinine-tree,' `medicine-tree' of the interior. Called also `horse-radish tree' owing to the taste of the leaves. The bark contains a peculiar bitter, and no doubt possesses medicinal properties. The taste is, however, quite distinct from quinine."

<hw>Horseshoe-Fern</hw>, <i>n</i>. name given in New Zealand to the fern <i>Marattia fraxinia</i>, Sm., called in Australia the <i>Potato-Fern</i>. See under <i>Fern</i>.

<hw>Hot Wind</hw>, <i>n</i>. an Australian meteorological phenomenon. See quotations, especially 1879, A. R. Wallace. The phrase is of course used elsewhere, but its Australian use is peculiar. The hot wind blows from the North. Mr. H. C. Russell, the Government Astronomer of New South Wales, writes—"The hot wind of Australia is a circulation of wind about the anticyclone in the rear of which, as it moves to the east, there is a strong force of wind from north to north- west, which blowing over the heated plains of the interior gathers up its excessive temperature and carries it to the southern colonies. They seldom last more than two or three days in Sydney, and the great heat by which they are remembered never lasts more than a few hours of one day, and is always a sign of the end, which is an inrush of southerly wind, the circulation forming the front of the new incoming anticyclone."