Amulla - Winter Apple -
Eremophila Debills
Winter Apple (Amulla) is an attractive drought-hardy native bushfood plant adapted to grow in a range of soil types, including nutrient-poor soils, making it ideally suitable for low maintenance and water-efficient gardens. Winter Apple is also commonly referred to as Winter Berry due to the size of the edible fruits it produces and being a low-lying creeping plant it increases biodiversity in the garden by providing wildlife habitat for small lizards.
Small green fruits approximately 8mm in size appear in autumn/winter either turning white or pink when ripe. The fruit has an appearance of a tiny apple with a similar crispy texture and sweet taste.
Kindal-Kindal - Macadamia Nut - Macadamia integrifolia / Macadamia tetraphylla
Macadamia nuts have the twin reputation of being the best nuts in the world for eating and the hardest nuts in the world to crack. There are two species that are subtropical rainforest trees which occur naturally to Southern Queensland and Northern New South Wales.
Analyses have shown that the kernels contain up to 72% of oil of a high grade, equal to the best quality olive oil. If ignited, the nut burns for a couple of minutes with a strong flame.
Old Man Saltbush - Atriplex nummularia
A small shrub with silvery grey leaves, found in drier inland regions. The seeds were ground into flower which was mixed with water to make a dough. It was then cooked in hot coals. The leaves were used as seasoning.
Dianella - Blue Berry Lilly - Liliaceae
The blue berries were eaten raw. The roots were pounded, roasted on hot rocks, then eaten. The fibre from the leaves was used to make waistbands, sandles, nets, traps and baskets.
Kurrajong - Little Kurrajong - Brachychiton bidwillii
This plant is decidious. A bush tree to 7m with cream flowers. The seeds were eaten either raw or roasted. Rope was made from the bark fibre and firesticks from the wood. The tuberous roots of young plants were waten as well as the seeds, either raw or roasted. The roots, when cut, gave a plentiful supply of water. Ground-up seeds have been used by explorers as a substitute for coffee.
Irtalie / Bogum - Black Bean - Castanospermum austral
A 20m tall tree with a large trunk, masses or red and yellow flowers, glossy long leaves and seedpods about 20cm long that contain 4 large seeds. The seeds were soaked in water for 8 – 10 days then dried in the sun. They were then roasted on hot stones and pounded into a coarse meal. When this was required as a food, it was mixed with water and made into a thin cake, then baked again on hot stones.
Powderpuff Lillypilly - Syzygium wilsonii
Edible fresh fruits are usually apple-shaped and can be while, yellow, pink, purple, orange or red for different plant species.
Finger Lime -
Microcitrus australiasica
A 4m tall shrub with 1 -2cm long elliptical leaves and many strong thorns. The 6 cm long fruit is dark green, cylindrical and slightly curved. The pulp is red and very juicy. The long citrus fruit was eaten raw or crushed to make a refreshing drink.
Calhun - Blue Quandong - Elaeocarpaceae
The whitish bell-shaped flowers with petals cut into a fringe are followed by blue fruits about 3cm in diameter, which are fleshy, but the very hard large pitted stone nearly fills the frunt. The flesh was eaten as a fresh fruit or by squashing the flesh and mixing it with water in a bark trough to make a paste which was eaten raw. The fruit stones can be used to make an attractive necklace.
Native Ginger - Alpinia caerulea
It has glossy broad leaves and edible fruit. The young tips of the roots are edible. Leaves of the ginger were laid under meat being cooded in an earth oven. The leaves were also used to provide a roof for shelter.
Native Hybiscus
The ones planted are hybrids - ('Barambah Creek', and 'Sunshine').
Young shoots, flower buds and roots were all eaten raw or cooked. The hibiscus bark was sucked; the brances provided a strong fibre to make rope which was used for fishing nets, fishing lines and dillybags, rope and thread. Firesticks were also made from the wood. Also, a tea-like decoction was made to cure colds and congestion. The back of the leaf was used to mark didgeridoo and clapping stick patterns by rubbing vigorously in one direction.
Grevilla species
Nectar was sucked from the flowers, or the flowers were soaked in water to make a sweet drink.
King Orchid - Dendrobium speciosum
This yellow-flowering orchid grows on trees in moist areas. The swollen stems were beaten to a pulp, cooked on hot stones and eaten.
Warrigal Green
Cooked and used as a green vegetable.
Prostanthera Minty - Prostanthera sieberi
A small to medium dense shrub with highly aromatic foliage continuously releasing a mint essence into the atmosphere. A lavish display of violet flowers all but hides the soft leaves throughout spring and early summer, attracting butterflies and small insect-eating birds.
Also used to control erosion.