Bush Foods

image: Bush Foods

Bunya Nut

A very large majestic tree with a straight trunk, large prickly leaves and separate male and female flowers. The 10kg female cones contain delicious edible nuts that can be eaten raw or boiled to make extraction from the hard shell easier.

Macadamia - Bush Nut

Native macadamia nut to northern NSW. More cold hardy than Macadamia integrifolia, prickly leaf, pink new growth. Endangered in its native habit

Plum pine or Brown Pine

Attractive rainforest pine that bears greenish seeds on swollen edible stalks. The purple fruit are grape like with a sweet juicy pulp with a subtle plum flavour. The slightly resinous fruit can be used for both sweet and savoury recipes. It is an attractive hedge due to its contrasting dark and lime green foliage. The timber is popular as a cabinet making

Walking Stick Palm

This native miniature palm is found as an uderstorey throughout the subtropical rainforests of Australia. Growth is very slow in it's initial stages but very worthwhile to nuture as it is very attractive as an indoor plant. Orange fruits are edible.

Screw Pine Pandanus

The spectacular large compound orange fruit has wedge-shaped segments with a fleshy portion with a strong fruity flavour - excellent for use in cooking. The fruit pulp is used to flavor fruit-based deserts and sweet sauces, and is also used in jams and chutneys. Fruit is high in beta-carotene and can help to prevent vitamin A deficiency. Seeds can also be eaten after roasting.

Sandpaper fig

This small fig occurs along watercourses in Rainforest and open areas. An attractive tree with sandpapery leaves and edible fruit. Grows densely in full sun, less so in shade. Very good for stream bank stablilisation.

Native Mulberry

The native mulberry produces small, sweet, white fruits that hold their seeds on the outside like a strawberry. It naturally occurs in various types of rainforest north from Lismore to far north Queensland and west to Arnhem land. The tree is highly attractive to birds and insects making it an ideal tree for both bush food plots and rainforest regeneration plantings. Trees are dioecious, having male and female flowers on separate trees.

Blue Lillypilly

Has a small tasty purple fruit and will bear in about 2 years. The fruit grows in clusters and are quite juicy and crunchy when fully ripe. A beautiful ornamental. Makes an excellent screen plant.

Sandpaper fig - Birds Eye

A outstanding selection of the native Sandpaper fig. Large, flavoursome, red fleshed fig. Heavy cropping and no splitting in wet weather. Ideal fig selection for wet coastal areas.

Small Leaf Tamarind

This evergreen tree can be expected to reach 7-8m in an open garden environment providing a beautiful rich green spreading crown. As a mature tree will capture the eye with its interesting fruit from which the bright red-coated seeds emerge in mid summer. The tasty tangy fruit is a refreshing treat eaten raw or it can be used creatively in chutneys and sauces.

Orange Berry

Native to Nth Qld, this relative of the Citrus family produces a small musk flavoured orange coloured fruit. Attractive bushfood plant for backyards in the subtropics.

Cascade Lilly PIlly - Syzygium luehmannii x wilsonii

This is a hybrid species of lilly pilly that looks similar to the powderpuff lilly pilly but it has pale pink flowers followed by yummy pale pink fruits. Excellent for Hedges

Midyim Berry

This shrub occurs naturally throughout the coastal areas of northern NSW and south east Qld. It produces pretty white flowers and an abundance of fruit. The soft pulp is described as being one of the most delicious of all bush foods.

Cinnamon Myrtle

The leaves have a cinnamon-like aroma and flavour, and can be used as a spice in various dishes. This is a specific selection for its flavouring qualities, and is the actual clonal variant that inspired the name “cinnamon myrtle” in the 1980s. Other B.myrtifolia products marketed as cinnamon myrtle are other lower quality, and are not this particular variant, which has the high-end flavour and aroma qualities.