<hw>Mahoe</hw>, <i>n</i>. Maori name for the New Zealand
Whitewood-tree, <i>Melicytus ramiflorus</i>, Forst.,
<i>N.O. Violarieae</i>.
1855. Rev. R. Taylor, `Te Ika a Maui,' p. 447:
"Mahoe (<i>Melicytus ramiflorus</i>) grows to the height
of about fifty feet, and has a fine thin spiral leaf."
1863. Thomas Moser, `Mahoe Leaves':
[Title of a volume of articles about the Maoris.]
1883. J. Hector, `Handbook of New Zealand,' p. 130:
"Mahoe, hinahina. A small tree twenty to thirty feet high;
trunk often angular and seven feet in girth. The word is soft
and not in use. . . . Leaves greedily eaten by cattle."
<hw>Mahogany</hw>, <i>n</i>. The name, with varying epithets,
is applied to several Australian trees, chiefly
<i>Eucalypts</i>, on account of the redness or hardness of
their timber, and its applicability to purposes similar to that
of the true Mahogany. The following enumeration is compiled
from Maiden's `Useful Native Plants'
Mahogany, <i>Tristania conferta</i>, R. Br., <i>N.O.
Myrtaceae</i>; called also White Box, Red Box, Brush
Box, Bastard Box, Brisbane Box. This bark is occasionally used
for tanning.
Bastard Mahogany, or Gippsland Mahogany, or Swamp Mahogany,
<i>Eucalyptus botryoides</i>, Smith, <i>N.O. Myrtaceae</i>.
The Blue Gum of New South Wales coast districts. Bastard
Mahogany of Gippsland and New South Wales; called also Swamp
Mahogany in Victoria and New South Wales. It also bears the
names of Bastard Jarrah, and occasionally Woolly Butt. Sydney
workmen often give it the name Bangalay, by which it was
formerly known by the aboriginals of Port Jackson. It is one
of four colonial timbers recommended by the Victorian Carriage
Timber Board for use in the construction of railway carriages.
Specimens from Gippsland (Gippsland Mahogany) are spoken of as
"a timber of good colour, as strong as Blue Gum."
Mahogany, or Bastard Mahogany, <i>Eucalyptus marginata</i>,
Smith, <i>N.O. Myrtaceae</i>. Universally known as
<i>Jarrah</i>. In Western Australia it also bears the name
of Mahogany, or Bastard Mahogany.
Forest or Red Mahogany, Eucalyptus resinifera, Smith,
N.O. Myrtaceae; called also Jimmy Low (q.v.).
Forest Mahogany, <i>Eucalyptus microcorys</i>, F. v. M.,
<i>N.O. Myrtaceae</i>. In Queensland it is known as
Peppermint, the foliage being remarkably rich in volatile oil.
But its almost universal name is <i>Tallow Wood</i> (q.v.).
North of Port Jackson it bears the name of <i>Turpentine
Tree</i> (q.v.), and Forest Mahogany.
Tom Russell's Mahogany, <i>Lysicarpus ternifolius</i>,
F. v. M., <i>N.O. Myrtaceae</i>.
Swamp Mahogany, or White Mahogany, <i>Eucalyptus robusta</i>,
Smith, <i>N.O. Myrtaceae</i>, B. Fl. This tree is known as
White, or Swamp Mahogany, from the fact that it generally grows
in swampy ground. It is also called Brown Gum. This timber is
much valued for shingles, wheelwrights'work, ship-building, and
building purposes generally. As a timber for fuel, and where
no great strength is required, it is excellent, especially when
we consider its adaptability to stagnant, swampy, or marshy
places.
1846. J. L. Stokes, `Discoveries in Australia,' vol. ii.
c. iv. p. 132:
"Mahogany, Jarrail, Eucalyptus, grows on white sandy land."
Ibid. vol. ii. c. iv. p. 231:
"Part of our road lay through a thick mahogany scrub."
<hw>Mai</hw>, or <hw>Matai</hw>, <i>n</i>. a New Zealand tree,
now called <i>Podocarpus spicata</i>.
1855. Rev. R. Taylor, `Te Ika a Maui,' p. 440:
"Matai, mai (<i>Dacrydium mai</i>), a tree with a fine thick
top, and leaf much resembling that of the yew. The wood is of
a slightly reddish colour, close-grained, but brittle, and
peculiarly fragrant when burnt. . . . Highly prized for fuel,
and also much used for furniture, as it works up easily and
comes next to the totara for durability."
1876. W. <i>n</i>. Blair, `Transactions of New Zealand Institute,'
vol. ix. art. x. p. 157:
"I have in this paper adhered to the popular name of black-pine
for this timber, but the native name matai is always used in
the north."
<hw>Maiden's</hw> Blush, <i>n</i>. name given to the Australian
tree <i>Echinocarpus australis</i>, Benth., <i>N.O.</i>
<i>Tiliaceae</i>; and sometimes applied to <i>Euroschinus
falcatus</i>, Hook., <i>N.O. Anacardiaceae</i>. The timber is
of a delicate rosy colour when cut. The fruit is called
<i>Hedgehog-fruit</i> (q.v.). In Tasmania, the name is applied
to <i>Convolvulus erubescens</i>, Sims., order
<i>Convolvulaceae</i>.
<hw>Maire</hw>, <i>n</i>. a Maori name applied to three kinds
of trees; viz.--
(1) <i>Santalum cunninghamii</i>, Hook., a sandal-wood;