Australian Wild Native Food Plants

Indigenous Australian plants that were used by the traditional Koori peoples of this land as foods and are now popular gourmet cuisine food ingredients available in our supermarkets and on some restaurant menus. Organic wheat pasta flavoured with lemon myrtle, native mint or wattle seed; jars of Quandong compote, bush tomato chutney or Kakadu plum jelly can be used to give our food dishes a native Australian flavour.

Warrigal Greens

Plants such as the wild spinach Tetragonia tetragonoides or Warrigal Greens which is found in all States except NT. The early botanist Joseph Banks took its seeds to grow back at Kew Gardens where it became popular English summer spinach and was available for sale in seed catalogues. It was eaten here in our early colonial days. It is a leafy ground cover to 1.5m wide. It prefers moist, free draining soil in part shade. Leaves are edible raw or cooked. Young leaves are less bitter, and an excellent spinach substitute. 
 
The Kakadu green plum or billygoat plum Terminalia ferdinandiana in 1983 was discovered to contain 3150mg or vitamin C per 100g. This is the highest source of this vitamin in the world. The plum grows on a tree in the NT where this fruit has been eaten by the native aborigines for thousands of years. The tree also exudes an edible gum that was roasted and eaten. The plum is a small fruit the size of an olive. It has a sour taste with a mild apricot flavour. It is used in jellies, sauces and as a spread.
 
A native Australian nut that we are all familiar with is the macadamia from the tree Macadamia integrifolia. This nut was originally developed into a commercial crop by seeds shipped to Hawaii in the early 1900’s by the Americans.
 
Wild bush tomatoes Solanum chippendale & S.ellipticum are high in minerals of potassium & calcium, vitamins B and C. The explorer Captain Charles Sturt survived severe scurvy from being fed a large pot of small acid berries that were probably a species of this bush tomato. Deaths from scurvy were a common problem on the convict ships and in the early colonial days. Apparently those that regularly ate wild foods such as desert limes, currant bush Leptomeria acida, gums and “scurvy grass” which was a cress called Lepidium oleraceum may have ingested enough vitamin C to prevent this disease. As Captain Cook encouraged his crew to eat leafy wild plants which included the wild spinach which they had previously discovered in NZ he was awarded on his return to England the Royal Society’s medal for his victory over scurvy. The green fruits grow on small shrubs with purple flowers in the outback. The fruit in the heat of the sun would often shrivel up to form a “raison” which the aborigines regarded as a precious food. It could be ground to a paste with water, then covered with red ochre and dried in the sun to be stored for use later. Bush tomato has a strong flavour of tamarillo and caramel. A ground powder and chutney is available to add to your salads, sauces and salsas.
 
Quandong fruits from Santalum acuminatum are high in potassium and Vitamin C. They grow as shrubs or small trees and were used by our early settlers in puddings and preserves. The oily seeds are also edible and were gathered by the aborigines during the drought for their high (25%) protein content. The bright crimson red round fruits are sour/tart with an apricot/peach flavour. They can be made into jams, pies and as a sauce for game meats.
 
Lemon myrtle Backhousia citriodora is a rainforest tree. The leaf has an aroma like lemongrass and lime. I have been using the dried leaves for a refreshing tea and in fruit punches. It is available as oil and in soaps and hair shampoos. Use dry leaves or powder products with fish, chicken, biscuits and cheese cake. 
 
Hibiscus heterophyllus (Native Rosella) grows in Qld and NSW. It is an attractive, rounded shrub which grows to 2 metres. It needs well moist, drained soil and partial shade. The leaves and flower calyx has quite a sour and acidic taste, hence it is also known as native sorrel. This plant is still a useful food for Aborigines of the tropical north. Buds can be cooked and made into rosella jam. Buds can be eaten raw in salads or boiled as a vegetable. Petals can be eaten in salad or made into a tea. There is also a Wild Rosella plant Hibiscus sabdariffa that was introduced from early fishermen from Indonesia and now grown in Queensland. It has a tart flavour but with a more fruity palatable taste.

Tasmannia lanceolata (Mountain Pepper) grows in TAS, Vic & NSW. It is a not related to the true pepper but is a bushy shrub or tree to 3m but needs deep rich soil and some shade. Protect the plant from wind. The bark has been used as a remedy for scurvy as well and was used by the Europeans in the nineteenth century as a herbal remedy known as winter’s bark. J.H. Maiden a former director of the Sydney Botanical Gardens mentioned this tree with potential as a pepper or allspice substitute. The essential oil is used as a flavouring in confectionary and some trials are been carried out to widen its use. The leaves and berry are both edible as a very hot, spicy & biting flavour. Can be used fresh or dried. Great for seasoning meat and casseroles.

Prosanthera ovalifolia and P.rotundifolia (Native Mint Bush) grows in Qld, Vic, NSW& SA. It is a dense, rounded shrub to 2m. It likes moist & well drained soils in sun to part shade. Leaves have a delightful mint aroma which is excellent in jams, jellies and as a tea. The leavers contain aromatic oils and P. Rotundifolia or round leaved mint bush was used as a patented medicine for stomach flatulent disorders in colonial days.

Native Violet

Viola hederacea (Native Violet) grows in Vic, Qld, NSW, TAS, & SA. It is a creeping, mat forming groundcover but needs a moist spot, and some shade. It has delicate white and purple flowers which are edible, and make salads look amazing or add to your summer punches. 

Wild Parsnip

Trachymen anisocarpa (Wild Parsnip) has an edible tap root that I tasted at the recent spring heath land walk at Braeside Park. It is a leafy annual or biennial plant with spectacular flowers that can grow up to 1m. It can grow readily from seed and likes a moist sandy soil in the sun to part shade.
 
And now to tempt your palate for the taste of true native flavours here are a couple of recipes:-
 

•  ORIENTAL MYRTLE DRESSING-1 tspn soya sauce or tamari, 6 leaves of lemon myrtle ground or use powder, 6 tbspn of macadamia oil or substitute with another nut oil or olive oil , 2 tspn rice wine vinegar (or white wine vinegar) and lemon juice to taste. Blend all ingredients together in a jar and pour over a salad which may include warrigal greens or weed greens such as chickweed or dandelion. Toss in some native violet or heartsease flowers for colour.

•  MACADAMIA & KAKADU PLUM ICE CREAM-3 ½ cups natural yoghurt (Lemon myrtle honey and Bush honey yoghurts are now available to use as an alternative), 1 tbspn honey (omit if using honey yoghurt), 2 tbspn thick cream, 2 tbspn lemon or lime juice, 50g macadamia nuts coarsely chopped, 2 heaped tbspn Kakadu plum spread (use dark plum or Damson jam etc instead). Beat the yoghurt, plum spread and honey until smooth. Fold in the cream, add lemon juice & stir. Pour into a bowl and place in freezer. Remove and beat mixture every 15 minutes during the first hour of freezing. Serve with berries as a summer option and garnish with native violet flowers. 

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 References:- Sustainable Gardening Australia website. CERES website Bush Foods Catalogue. Book Wild Lime Cooking from the bush food garden by Juleigh Robins 1996. Book Bush Medicine by Tim Low 1990. Book Australian Medicinal Plants by E.V. Lassak & Tim Mc Carthy 1983.