Deslardner.com

If the reader finds errors or wishes to share more information please contact me via email.(at lardner1@wimmera.com.au)

Preliminary warnings
In national parks and state forest native bush tucker plants are protected. It’s dangerous (but rarely fatal) to experiment with bush foods. Take an expert with you, (A bushman) and be very certain about the plants you eat and use the taste test on very small quantities. Modern foods have been highly modified by careful genetic selection over centuries. e.g cabbage= cauliflower= broccoli.= wild inedible cabbage found in Australia and everywhere else (all same plant genera!!) So don’t expect native Burdekin Plums to taste like plums, or Quandong marmalade to taste like marmalade! Edible does not mean palatable.!!! (Not usually with bush foods)

Preliminary good news
It’s great fun and very rewarding to grow your own native bush foods. Native plants are low uses of phosphate and well suited to Aussie conditions by 1000s of years of genetic modification. They are thus less damaging to soils and lower users of water. Watering all plants around the time of harvest however will greatly improve yield. Native animals are increased and biodiversity increased. Especially useful if you plant winter yielding crops, as this is when food is scarce for animals and birds.

Doctrine of signatures
(Proposed by Nicholas Culpepper 1616-1654 but probably based on the much older oral tradition of herbal medicine.) All gardeners looking for bush foods should understand the modern “doctrine of signatures”. The proposer of this theory was a good physician, theologian, politician and botanist, but not a bushman. In the bush he would have been a skeleton in 3 days.

The original doctrine of signatures states there are signs in nature that indicate the purpose for the plant. In other words, God put his signature on certain plants. It is possibly a miss-quote of the Bible in Psalms 19.1.(viz. The earth declares his handiwork). So Ginseng root was shaped like a man, so it was a useful medicine for humans. Yellow plants are for jaundice (liver disease in which the skin goes yellow). Red plants like Bloodroot are for blood disorders. Herbalists can give many other examples, but they can give you exceptions too. Whilst I personally agree some of these rules are good aids to memory, this is not a universal law. Scientists have long ago debunked the old “doctrine of signatures”.

The new Des Lardner “doctrine of signatures” is safer. Namely, “Nature follows general principles. Nature follows certain set patterns and laws, but the main rule of nature is diversity, not similarity.”

1. Things that taste and smell nice are generally OK: Contain sugars, fats and proteins all of which are nice to the taste buds. There are rare exceptions and they are well documented in literature and in bushman law.

2. Plants that look edible, probably are. Fruit of the North Australian Cycad palm (Macrozamia communis) is an exception to 2 rules. It looks OK and tastes OK, but causes profound purging many hours later. But it is also bright red and large! (see below) .

The fruit of the native creeping bush pear Leichhardtia/Toona australis (Austral doubah, bush banana) looks edible but in my opinion isn’t, unless very young. However the roots are edible yams and leaves edible too, a true signature plant!

3.Plants that taste and look horrible are generally not good to eat (but make good medicines). They can be sour, astringent, acrid, pungent, salty or bitter. Bitter plants generally contain alkaloids. E.g. Nicotine plant, devils/fierce thorn apple, both look and smell menacing and are dangerous to most insects, some birds, some stock and humans. Shame it took 400 years for modern man to read the signs with tobacco!

4. The Mustard yellow colour is often a danger sign or a warning sign to all animals that part of the plant is dangerous or inedible. E.g: some animal excreta. Some animals use the colour yellow as a protection in their skin colour, notably Queensland butterflies, knowing most animals will think twice before attacking them. Most animals avoid yellow, and we should take a warning from this. Both poisonous and non-poisonous animals and plants are yellow. The common toxic ingredient in mustard yellow plants is cyanide. E.g Almonds, mustard and apricots all contain cyanide in small quantities (Apricot kernels contain lots of cyanide and around 15 kernels could be fatal.). Be careful of yellow-orange plants you don’t know. Explorer George Grey noted aboriginals turned up their noses at wild mustard plants when offered them by colonials. I would say that’s extremely smart bushmanship!

5. Red often denotes healthy food for humans, but is generally a warning sign to animals. Many of the worlds living creatures are colour blind in the human sense but a surprising number are not, and even very primitive creatures like ants and bees have receptors for distinguishing colours, in the ultraviolet range, beyond human ability. The lesson: Be careful of red plants. (e.g. Tomatoes contain solanine alkaloid in the leaves, rhubarb contains oxalic acid in the leaves. The parts we eat are lower in these toxins, and thus safe).

6. All large seeds should be regarded as toxic when dried, until proved otherwise. Most large seeds are found to be toxic (to protect the next generation from total annihilation by ruminants) and should be soaked before eating to remove the toxins. E.g. All legumes including European pulses [beans, lentils] should be soaked and cooking water thrown away, as they contain water soluble toxins known as protease inhibitors that are deadly to insects and noxious to humans and ruminants. Wattle seeds are legumes so take care!

A few examples of actual Aussie Bush Tucker

Best known plants world-wide

1. Macadamias
(Sir John Macadam 1852).M. Tetraphylla , M Integrifolia.

A 20 year old tree yields around 50 Kg of fruit annually which is $1000 at today’s prices! Grow under aluminium foil up until full summer. Cicadas, butterflies and aphids are a problem. Subject to wind-throw, grows naturally like an umbrella inside out, and very tall thus need pruning. See Wimmera Native Nursery, Dimboola about a self-fertilizing variety, or you need at least 2. Needs a frost free position when young.

2. New Zealand/Australian spinach

Tetragonia tetragonoides. Grows well in dry areas. Common in Wimmera. Discovered by Cpt. Cook and sent back to Britain for cultivation.

Tubers

Tubers were the main food it appears, of aboriginals, particularly in dry weather. (George Gray explorer and Rev Woolls early missionary)

Microsera scapigera. Murnong. Also called daisy yam by Europeans. Early explorers reported 1000s of acres of this yellow plant, wherever they went, but it is now virtually extinct. Sheep love them.
Native Ground orchids. Most have edible bulbs. Don’t pick them in the wild, it’s illegal, they are near extinction, and a hefty fine and negative publicity could follow. Sheep love them.
Darling Lily Crinum flaccidum Great plant, see Wimmera Nursery for seedlings.
Nalgoo. Cyperus spp
All the Dioscorea, Ipomea, Convulvulus spp. vines/yams are healthy sources of complex starch (polysaccharides) widely used in traditional medicine in all cultures. Immune enhancing properties usually. Some were soaked first to remove toxins. Some are fish poisons.
Long Yam Dioscorea tranversa
D. bulbifera (Northern Australia)
D Pentaphyla
D. hastifolia “Warrine to aboriginals” (George Gray explorer reported that on one tract of land the pot holes (over several square miles!) from aboriginal digging for this plant made it difficult for his party to walk across it.)
Australian bindweed Convolvulus erubescens

In waterways

Tar vine Boerhavia spp
Native cranesbill. Geranium spp . . . these two taste aweful
Bush-rushes
Bolboschoenus caldwellii Sea club rush
Triglochin procera, water ribbon

Other water-plants

Nardoo: Marselia drummondii. Seeds eaten, grows well in Wimmera river.
Australian Spiked rush Eleocharis dulcis = Chinese water chestnut.
Bungwall a semi-aquatic fern Blechnum indicum, roasted and pounded.
Waterlilly Nymphaea spp. Seeds are very nutritious, peeled stem and bulb eaten (Prefers northern Australia)

Other favorites

Bunya Pine. Araucaria billwilli.
Roast nuts, grows in warm areas. Formerly we had one in Horsham Botanical Gardens. Frost tender.
Rosella Hibiscus heterophyllus. Whole plant edible.
Acmena smithii (Lily pilly) and it’s relative Syzygium luehmannii. (Riberry) prefers frost free areas and lots watering when young. NSW natives.
Kakadu Plum Terminalia ferdinandiana. (Arnhem land) all this genus used in traditional medicine for high levels of interesting compounds. Vit C content is 60 x greater than an orange.
Bush cucumber Cucumis melo. Prefers central Australia , beware of toxicity and stomach ache with all melon family. Ancient Hunza peoples very pedantic about not mixing melons with other foods at same meal.
Native currant Canthium latifolium (Rubiaceae) grows well around Bourke NSW, eaten by aborigines (Cleland 1966). Fruiting is irregular and unreliable but may do better in watered garden setting.

Grown in our area

Sweet appleberry Billadiera cymosa. Native of Beachport SA.

Quandong Santalum acuminatum grows well, when established. From Quorn in SA come best commercial plants. Parasitic plant, seek specialist advice.

Lilies. All native lily family edible in certain circumstances, talk to a bushman or Wimmera Native, Dimboola nursery. Especially Native Flax Lily and Bulbine lily Bulbine bulbosa.

Illarawa plum Podocarpus elatus prefers NSW.

Ficus spp. Australian Figs. Australia wide distribution..

Tasmannia lanceolata. Mountain pepper. Used as a spice.

Orchids, probably all edible

Exocarpus latifolius. Cherry Ballart. Common around Apsley.

Coastal lignum Muehlenbeckia gunnii. Small but nice fruit!

Grass tree Xanthorrhoea australis grows very slowly and eating kills the tree!

Kunzea pomifera. Also called Muntries, muntari, crab-apple. See Ted Brown, Wimmera Native Nursery

Native raspberries (Rubus parvifolius) found in the Grampians and Australia wide (c.f. R. idaeus, (mediterrean/Italian grew on Mt Idaeus in Rome) R parviflora (USA). Leaves used for pregnancy, and nausea by all 3 cultures.

Saltbush

All saltbushes have (tiny) edible berries. Lizards and Emus love them.
Ruby saltbush Enchylaena tomentosa , See Ted Brown, Wimmera Native Nursery, Dimboola
Fragrant saltbush Rhagodia parabolica can probably be boiled as vegetable (Major Mitchell)

Wattles

Large numbers of wattleseeds are edible, but remember they are large seeds, so refer to a text and traditional bushmen or aborigines before eating them. (see above toxins in legumes) Wattleseed ice-cream is a popular commercial product.

Bush tomatoes

Solanum centrale et al. needs lots of specialist advice. 99% of the year these tomatoes are toxic. 1% of the year they’re wonderfully nutritious bush tucker! Grows profusely in Grampians.

Grasses, Groundcovers

Woollybutt (Eragrotis eriopoda) seed is 13-17% protein (wheat is 11%)
Native millett (Panicum decompositum) . Sheep love it.
Pigweed Portulacca oleracea. Very popular worldwide. Seeds are very high source of omega 3 oils in plant kingdom, and v high in protein. Leaves are toxic at some times of the year.

References

Bush Tucker by Tim Low, Angus and Robertson 1992
Bush Food by Jennifer Isaacs. Weldons. 1987.
Bush Tucker by Robert Gott. Heineman Library 2006.
Growing your own “Food bearing plants” in Australia by Selby Gouldstone McMillan 1983
Money trees on your property David Fitzpatrick Inkata press 1994.
Extinct and endangered Plants of Australia. By J Leigh et al. McMillan 1984.
Plants of Western New South Wales. G Cunningham et al. Crown Printing 1981

Most are available at Wimmera Regional Library Service.

Websites

1. http://www.indigenousaustralia.frogandtoad.com.au/bushtucker.html.
Written by aboriginals.

2. http://www.clw.csiro.au/nativefoods/
CSIRO”S website about bush-foods and the industry

3. http://www.bushtucker.com.au
The bush food directory with links

4. http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanavera/lab/2218/bushfood.html
More links to industry

5. http://www.cherikoff.net/cherikoff/recipes.html
Recipes using bush foods.

Local suppliers

Karkana in Horsham. Takeaways
Brambuck Cultural Centre Halls Gap. Cooks lots of Koori foods to perfection and has takeaways.
Some Plants available from Wimmera Native Nursery Pty Ltd. Box 98 Dimboola 3414. phone 03 53891 193. wimmera@nativenursery.com.au