| 释义 |
Moreton Bay|ˈmɔːtən beɪ|
Also Morton Bay (only in sense b).
The name of a bay in Queensland, Australia (orig. Morton). a. Used attrib. to designate several trees native to the surrounding region, esp. Moreton Bay ash (-tree), Eucalyptus tessellaris, of the family Myrtaceæ; Moreton Bay chestnut, an evergreen tree, Castanospermum australe, of the family Leguminosæ, bearing racemes of yellow flowers; Moreton Bay fig (-tree), Ficus macrophylla or F. platypoda, of the family Moraceæ; Moreton Bay pine, the hoop pine, Araucaria cunninghamii, of the family Pinaceæ.
1847L. Leichhardt Overland Expedition 75 (Morris), The Moreton Bay Ash (a species of Eucalyptus)..was here also very plentiful. 1908E. J. Banfield Confessions of Beachcomber i. i. 15 Moreton Bay ash and other eucalypts. 1944F. Clune Red Heart 64 Here he saw a Moreton Bay ash tree blazed with the letter L, made on Leichhardt's 1846 expedition.
1884A. Nilson Timber Trees N.S.W. 40 C[astanospermum] australe—Moreton Bay Chestnut; Bean Tree.—A beautiful tree, attaining a height of 130 feet and a diameter of 5 feet. 1908E. J. Banfield Confessions of Beachcomber ii. i. 259 One of the chief vegetable foods of the blacks is the fruit of ‘tindaburra’ (Moreton Bay chestnut—Castanospermum australe). 1947J. C. Rich Materials & Methods of Sculpture x. 286 Blackbean is an Australian wood, also referred to as Moreton Bay Chestnut. It is hard and heavy and resembles teakwood. The color is light to dark brown with lighter colored streaks. 1969T. H. Everett Living Trees of World 193/2 Very handsome lumber, resembling walnut and esteemed for cabinet work and furniture, is obtained from the Moreton Bay chestnut.
1883Encycl. Brit. XX. 173/2 The Moreton Bay fig-tree has immense wall-like abutments. 1890‘R. Boldrewood’ Miner's Right xliv. 380 (Morris), The..venerable church with its alleys of araucaria and Moreton Bay fig-trees. 1917‘H. H. Richardson’ Fortunes R. Mahony iv. ix. 362 Mahony turned in and drove past exotic firs, Moreton Bay figtrees and araucarias. 1933D. G. Stead Tree Bk. xxii. 89 A species with large glossy leaves is the well-known Moreton Bay Fig, which..is so hardy. 1943K. Tennant Ride on Stranger (1968) viii. 86 She was particularly fond of the Domain... Here were great avenues of Moreton Bay figs; great bulks cold as stone with loose-wrinkled grey skin for bark and roots. 1965Austral. Encycl. IV. 58/2 The Moreton Bay fig (F[icus] macrophylla) is extensively planted as a shade and ornamental tree, but in its wild state is not very common. Ibid. 59/1 The small-leaved Moreton Bay fig (F. platypoda) is the most widely distributed of all the Australian species.
1838J. C. Loudon Arboretum et Fruticetum Britannicum IV. 2444 The Moreton Bay pine is found, as the name imports, on the shores of Moreton Bay: it has also..a range of 900 miles..on the eastern coast of New South Wales. 1884[see hoop-pine (hoop n.1 13 b)]. 1911E. M. Clowes On Wallaby ix. 251 Queensland! the home of the red pine and the kauripine, the red cedar, the Moreton Bay pine, and black-bean; and nine men to guard the interests of all this wealth! 1923Dallimore & Jackson Handbk. Coniferæ 155 Moreton Bay Pine... A tree 150 ft. or occasionally 200 ft. high, with a girth up to 12 ft.
b. slang. (See quots.)
1953Baker Australia Speaks v. 134 Morton Bay (fig), any witness who lays an information, anyone who unwarrantably attends to or meddles in the affairs of others; by rhyme on gig,..and which may be a contraction of fiz-gig, an informer. 1966― Austral. Lang. (ed. 2) xii. 267 Moreton Bay, a trickster's victim or gay. |