Austral English Part 81

1885. A. Hamilton, `Native Birds of Petane, Hawke's Bay':

"Fern-bird. The peculiar chirp of this lively little bird is yet to be heard among the tall fern, though it is not so plentiful as in days gone by."

1888. W. L. Buller, `Birds of New Zealand,' vol. i. p. 59:

"Fern Bird ... This recluse little species is one of our commonest birds, but is oftener heard than seen. It frequents the dense fern of the open country and the beds of Raupo."

Fern-tree, n. Name applied to various species of ferns which grow to a large size, the stem in the fully grown plant reaching often a height of many feet before the leaves are given off. Such Tree-ferns clothe the sides of deep and shady gullies amongst the hills, and give rise to what are known as Fern-tree gullies, which form a very characteristic feature of the moister coastal Ranges of many parts of Australia. The principal Fern-trees or Tree-ferns, as they are indiscriminately called, of Australia and Tasmania are--

Dicksonia antarctica, Lab.; Alsophila australis, R. Br.; Todea africana, Willd.; Cyathea cunninghami, J. Hook.; Alsophila excelsa, R. Br.;

the last named, however, not occurring in Tasmania or Victoria.

1836. Ross, `Hobart Town Almanack,' p. 164:

"We entered a beautiful fern-tree grove, that also concealed the heavens from view, spreading like a plantation or cocoa-nut tree orchard, but with far more elegance and effect."

1839. C. Darwin, `Voyage of Beagle' (ed. 1890), p. 177:

"Tree-ferns thrive luxuriantly in Van Diemen's Land (lat. 45 degrees), and I measured one trunk no less than six feet in circumference. An arborescent fern was found by Forster in New Zealand in 46 degrees, where orchideous plants are parasitical on the trees. In the Auckland Islands, ferns, according to Dr. Dieffenbach, have trunks so thick and high that they may be almost called tree-ferns."

1857. F. R. Nixon (Bishop of Tasmania), `Cruise of the Beacon,'

p. 26:

"With these they [i.e. the Tasmanian Aborigines] mingled the core or pith of the fern trees, Cibotium Bollardieri and Alsophila Australis (of which the former is rather astringent and dry for a European palate, and the latter, though more tolerable, is yet scarcely equal to a Swedish turnip.)"

1870. S. H. Wintle, `Fragments of Fern Fronds,' p. 39:

"Where the feet of the mountains are bathed by cool fountains, The green, drooping fern trees are seen."

1878. William Sharp, `Australian Ballads,' `Canterbury Poets'

(Scott, 1888), pp. 180-81:

"The feathery fern-trees make a screen, Where through the sun-glare cannot pass-- Fern, gum, and lofty sassafras."

"Under a feathery fern-tree bough A huge iguana lies alow."

1884. R. L. A. Davies, `Poems and Literary Remains,' p. 83:

"There were mossy fern-trees near me, With their graceful feathered fronds, Which they slowly waved above me, Like hoar magicians' wands."

1893. A.R. Wallace, `Australasia,' vol. i. p. 53:

"Here are graceful palms rising to 70 or even 100 feet; the Indian fig with its tortuous branches clothed with a drapery of curious parasites; while graceful tree ferns, 30 feet high, flourish in the damp atmosphere of the sheltered dells."

Fern-tree Gully. See Fern-tree and Gully.

Fever-bark, n. another name for Bitter-bark (q.v.).

Fibrous Grass, n. a Tasmanian grass (see Grass), Stipa semiibarbata, R. Br., N.O. Gramineae.

1862. W. Archer, `Products of Tasmania,' p. 41:

"Fibrous grass (Stipa semibarbata, Br.). After the seed has ripened the upper part of the stem breaks up into fibre, which curls loosely and hangs down waving in the wind."

Fiddle-back, n. name given in Australia to the beetle, Schizorrhina australasiae.

Fiddler, n. a New South Wales and Victorian name for a species of Ray, Trygonorhina fasciata, Mull. and Heule, family Rhinobatidae.

Fig-bird, n. a bird-name.

Sphecotheres maxillaris, Lath.; Yellow bellied, S. flaviventris, Gould. S. maxillaris is also called Mulberry-bird (q.v.).

Fig-eater, n. a bird, i.q. Grape-eater (q.v.).

Fig-tree, n. The name is applied in Australia to the following species:--

Blue Fig-- Elaeocarpus grandis, F. v. M., N.O. Tiliaceae.

Clustered F.-- Ficus glomerata, Willd., N.O. Urticaceae.

Moreton Bay F.-- P. macrophylla, Desf., N.O. Urticaciae //sic. check//.

Prickly F.-- Elaeocarpus holopetalus, F. v. M., N.O. Tiliaceae.

Purple F., or White F., or Rough-leaved F., or Flooded F.

[Clarence River]-- Ficus scabra, G. Forst., N.O. Urticaciae.

Ribbed F.-- F. pleurocarpa, F. v. M., N.O. Urticaciae.

Rusty F., or Narrow-leaved F. [or Port Jackson]-- F. rubiginosa, Desf., N.O. Urticaciae; called also Native Banyan.

1862. H. C. Kendall, `Poems,' p.119:

"And I forget how lone we sit beneath this old fig-tree."

1870. F. S. Wilson, `Australian Songs,' p. 115:

"The fig-tree casts a pleasant shade On the straggling ferns below."

1882. J. H. Maiden, `Useful Native Plants,' p. 537:

"Moreton Bay fig. This noble-looking tree has a wood which is sometimes used, though it is very difficult to season."

[It is a handsome evergreen with dark leaves, larger than those of a horse-chestnut, much used as an ornament in street and gardens, especially in Sydney and Adelaide. The fig is not edible.]

1890. Rolf Boldrewood, `Miner's Right, c. 44, p. 380:

"The ... venerable church with its alleys of araucaria and Moreton Bay fig-trees."