manitoka, noun

Forms:
manatoka, manitakaShow more Also manatoka, manitaka, manitokka, manotoka, mantoka.
Origin:
Australian EnglishShow more A name perhaps created by the botanist P. Macowan; not used in Australian English.
In full manitoka tree, also manitoka boom/bʊəm/ [Afrikaans boom tree]: the large shrub Myoporum insulare of the Myoporaceae, bearing small white flowers followed by edible blue berries, indigenous to Australia but naturalized in parts of the Western Cape. Also attributive.
1906 F. Blersch Handbk of Agric. 267Hedge shrubs and trees...Manatoka (Myoporum insulare).
1913 C. Pettman Africanderisms 310Manotoka boom,..The Western Province name for Myoporum acuminatum.
1948 H.V. Morton In Search of S. Afr. 48The old buildings and houses of former occupants..were standing roofless and deserted in a jungle of manitaka trees.
1949 L.G. Green In Land of Afternoon 175Manitoka trees curled over by years and years of south-easter.
1956 Cape Times 1 Mar. 8The English myrtle hedge..is far more interesting, is greener and less likely to dry out. This can also be said of the manitoka and tecoma hedges.
1957 L.G. Green Beyond City LightsI remember the blue gum trees with their colonies of finches and the twisted old manitoka trees where the weaver-birds nest.
1973 M. Philip Caravan Caravel 19Hedges of fleshy, narrow-leaved manitokkas bushing out between the caravan sites.
1984 R.J. Poynton Characteristics & Uses of Sel. Trees 155Manatoka Myoporum insulare. Manatoka, Dotted-leaf Myoporum laetum.
In full manitoka tree, also manitoka boom/bʊəm/ [Afrikaans boom tree]:the large shrub Myoporum insulare of the Myoporaceae, bearing small white flowers followed by edible blue berries, indigenous to Australia but naturalized in parts of the Western Cape. Also attributive.
Entry Navigation

Visualise Quotations

Quotation summary

Senses

19061984