‖ manuka
(məˈnuːkə; Maori ˈmɑːnʊka)
[Maori.]
A name for several Australasian trees and shrubs of the genus Leptospermum (family Myrtaceæ), which yield a very hard, dark, close-grained and heavy wood, and an aromatic leaf sometimes employed as a substitute for tea: a. Red manuka of New Zealand, Leptospermum scoparium. b. White manuka of New Zealand, L. ericoides. c. Manuka of Tasmania (Tea tree), L. lanigerum. Also attrib.
| 1832 G. Bennett in London Med. Gaz. 18 Feb. 750/1 This tree..is probably a species of Leptospermum. It is found abundantly at New Zealand,..and is named Kaeta⁓towa, or Manuka, by the natives. 1840 J. S. Polack Mann. N. Zealanders II. 258 This wood, called by the southern tribes Mánuka, is remarkably hard and durable. 1851 Mrs. Wilson New Zealand 46 Manuka, a very hard dark closegrained and heavy wood. 1882 W. D. Hay Brighter Britain! II. 195 The Manuka or Manukau..is the ‘ti-tree’ of settlers. 1959 Tararua XIII. 47 We may find on the topographical maps such New Zealand terms as..‘teatree’ in Auckland, ‘manuka’ further south. 1960 New Scientist 4 Aug. 330/1 Sheep farmers were beginning to get worried by manuka, which showed signs of investing large tracts of country. And then, suddenly the coccid appeared and started to destroy the weed. |
| attrib. 1875 Wood & Lapham Waiting for Mail 38 A bit of deal board, fastened on a Manuka pole. 1920 Nature 22 July 667/1 The most abundant foods [for trout] were the green manuka-beetle,..the larvae of caddis-flies..and a small mollusc. 1936 ‘R. Hyde’ Passport to Hell ii. 47 The brown and white manuka blossoms. 1948 Coast to Coast 1947 76 Johnny put up a manuka shelter around the pool. |