Austral English Part 195

Little P.-- E. minor, Forst.

For the New Zealand species, see the quotation, and also Korora.

1889. Professor Parker, `Catalogue of New Zealand Exhibition,'

p. 119:

"The Penguins are characteristic Southern Hemisphere sea-birds, being represented in the Northern by the Puffins. They are flightless, but their wings are modified into powerful fins or flappers. Among the most interesting forms are the following-- the King Penguin, Aptenodytes longirostris; Rock Hopper P., Pygoscelis taeniatus; Yellow-Crowned P., Eudyptes antipodum; Crested P., E. pachyrhynchus; Little Blue P., E. minor and undina."

Pennyroyal, Native, n. Mentha gracilis, R. Br., N.O. l.a.b.i.atae. Much more acrid than the European species of Mentha; but used widely as a herbal medicine. Very common in all the colonies. See also Mint.

Pepper, Climbing, n. Piper novae-hollandiae, Miq., N.O. Piperaceae. Called also Native Pepper, and Native Pepper-vine. A tall plant climbing against trees in dense forests.

Peppermint, or Peppermint-tree, n.

a name given to various Eucalypts, from the aromatic nature of their leaves or extracted essence. See quotation below from White, 1790. There are many species, and various vernacular names, such as Brown Peppermint, Dandenong P., Narrow-leaved P., White P., etc. are given in various parts to the same species.

See Maiden's note on Eucalyptus amygdalina, under Gum. Other vernacular names of different species are b.a.s.t.a.r.d-Peppermint, Peppermint-Box, Peppermint-Gum.

1790. J. White, `Voyage to New South Wales' (Appendix by Dr.

Smith or John Hunter), pp. 226-27:

"The Peppermint Tree, Eucalyptus piperita... .

The name of peppermint-tree has been given to this plant by Mr. White on account of the very great resemblance between the essential oil drawn from its leaves and that obtained from the Peppermint (Mentha piperita) which grows in England.

This oil was found by Mr. White to be much more efficacious in removing all cholicky complaints than that of the English Peppermint, which he attributes to its being less pungent and more aromatic."

1832. J. Bischoff, `Van Diemen's Land,' c. ii. p. 23:

"The peppermint, so called from the leaves imparting to the taste that flavour, grows everywhere throughout the island."

1874. Garnet Walch, I Head over Heels,' p. 75:

"Well, mate, it's snug here by the logs That's peppermint--burns like a match."

1880. G. Sutherland, `Tales of Goldfields,' p. 30:

"A woody gully filled with peppermint and stringy-bark trees."

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

p. 231:

"The peppermints rose like pillars, with funereal branches hung, Where the dirge for the dead is chanted, And the mourning hymn is sung."

1888. D. Macdonald, `Gum Boughs,' p. 116:

"Down among the roots of a peppermint bush."

1889. J. H. Maiden, `Useful Native Plants,' 439:

"It [Eucalyptus capitella, Smith] is one of the numerous `peppermints' of New South Wales and Victoria, and is noteworthy as being the first eucalypt so called, at any rate in print."

Pepper, Native, i.q. Climbing Pepper (see above), Piper Novae-Hollandiae, Miq.

1889. J. H. Maiden, `Useful Native Plants,' p. 198:

"`Native Pepper.' An excellent tonic to the mucous membrane... . One of the largest native creepers, the root being at times from six inches to a foot in diameter.

The plant climbs like ivy to the tops of the tallest trees, and when full-grown weighs many tons, so that a good supply of the drug is readily obtainable."

Pepper-tree, n. The name is given to two trees, neither of which are the true pepper of commerce (Piper). They are--

(1) Schinus molle, which is a native of South America, of the Cashew family, and is largely cultivated for ornament and shade in California, and in the suburbs and public parks and gardens of all Australian towns where it has been naturalised. It is a very fast growing evergreen, with feathery leaves like a small palm or fern, drooping like a weeping willow. It flowers continuously, irrespective of season, and bears a cl.u.s.ter of red-berries or drupes, strongly pungent,-whence its name.

(2) The other tree is indigenous in Australia and Tasmania; it is Drimys aromatica, F. v. M., formerly called Tasmania aromatica, R. Br., N.O. Magnoliaceae.

In New Zealand the name is applied to Drimys /corr./ axillaris, Forst. (Maori, Horopito; q.v.).

1830. `Hobart Town Almanack,' p. 65:

"A thick grove of the pepper-shrub, Tasmania fragrans of Smith. It grows in a close thicket to the height of from six to ten feet. When in blossom, in the spring months of November or December, the farina of the flower is so pungent, especially if shaken about by the feet of horses or cattle, that it is necessary to hold a handkerchief to the nose in order to avoid continual sneezing."

1839. T. L. Mitch.e.l.l, `Three Expeditions into the Interior of Eastern Australia,' vol. ii. p. 280:

"We also found the aromatic tree, Tasmania aromatica.

... The leaves and bark of this tree have a hot, biting, cinnamon-like taste, on which account it is vulgarly called the pepper-tree."

1880. Mrs. Meredith, `Tasmanian Friends and Foes,' p. 231:

"The handsome red-stemmed shrub known as native pepper... .

Something like cayenne and allspice mixed, ... the aromatic flavour is very pleasant. I have known people who, having first adopted its use for want of other condiments, continue it from preference."

1888. Ca.s.sell's `Picturesque Australasia,' vol. iii.

p. 138:

"Bright green pepper-trees with their coral berries."

Peragale, n. the scientific name of the genus of Australian marsupial animals called Rabbit- Bandicoots. See Bandicoot. (Grk. paera, a bag or wallet, and galae, a weasel.)

Perameles, n. scientific name for the typical genus of the family of Australian marsupial animals called Bandicoots (q.v.), or Bandicoot-Rats. The word is from Latin pera (word borrowed from the Greek), a bag or wallet, and meles (a word used by Varro and Pliny), a badger.

Perch, n. This English fish-name is applied with various epithets to many fishes in Australia, some of the true family Percidae, others of quite different families. These fishes have, moreover, other names attached to them in different localities. See Black Perch, Fresh-water P., Golden P., Magpie P., Murray P., Pearl P., Red P., Red Gurnet P., Rock P., Sea P., Parrot Fish, Poddly, Burramundi, Mado, and Bidyan Ruffe.

1882. Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods, `Fish of New South Wales,'

p. 31:

"Lates colonorum, the perch of the colonists . . , really a fresh-water fish, but ... often brought to the Sydney market from Broken Bay and other salt-water estuaries... . The perch of the Ganges and other East Indian rivers (L. calcarifer) enters freely into brackish water, and extends to the rivers of Queensland."

[See Burramundi. L. colonorum is called the Gippsland Perch, in Victoria.]

1882. Ibid. p. 45:

"The other genus (Chilodactylus) is also largely represented in Tasmania and Victoria, one species being commonly imported from Hobart Town in a smoked and dried state under the name of `perch.'"