| 释义 |
‖ spinifex Bot.|ˈspaɪnɪfɛks|
[mod.L. (Linnæus Mantissa Plantarum (1771) ii. 163), f. spīna spine n.1 + -fex maker, f. facere to make.]
1. One or other of a number of coarse grasses (now classed in the genus Triodia or Plectrachne) which grow in dense masses on the sand-hills of the Australian deserts, and are characterized by their sharp-pointed, spiny leaves; esp. the porcupine-grass, Triodia irritans.
1846J. L. Stokes Discov. Australia II. 209 In the valleys was a little sandy soil, nourishing the spinifex. 1847C. Sturt Narr. Exped. C. Australia (1849) I. 405 The spinifex was close and matted, and the horses were obliged to lift their feet straight up to avoid its sharp points. 1890C. Lumholtz Cannibals 43 On the broad sandy heights in the vicinity the so-called spinifex is found in great abundance.
attrib.1895W. G. Wood-Martin Pagan Irel. 389 An interchange..of flint and basalt, or spinifex gum.
2. A genus of grasses common on Australasian sea-shores and characterized by the elastic spines of the seeds; a plant belonging to this genus, esp. Spinifex hirsutus.
1877Bar. F. v. Müller Bot. Teach. 126 The Desert Spinifex of our colonists is a Fescue, but a true Spinifex occupies our sand-shores. |