Edible native plants in the nursery

The Nursery has numerous native plants that can be eaten. While some are delicious, others may need an acquired taste before enjoying. If you decide to give them a try, please confirm you are about to eat the correct species!

Plant list: Maroochy catchment centre

The majority of the list was extracted from information provided by the old Fairhill Native Plant Nursery, Yandina and includes species not held by our Nursery. 

• Acronychia Imperforta – FRASER ISLAND APPLE – Juicy bright orange fruit which ripens in winter and spring, have a sharp-tasting edible flesh. This is a hardy ornamental shrub or small tree for seaside gardens.

• Alpinia caerulea – NATIVE GINGER – All parts of this plant are edible, raw or cooked. The pulp of the blue fruit is pleasantly acid, and the seed is ginger flavoured. Aborigines wrapped the leaves around meat to be cooked in an earthen oven. The young root tips are gingery and tender. 

• Araucaria bidwillii – BUNYA PINE – The delicious nuts, held in large green cones, are relished by modern day Australians almost as much as they were by aborigines. Special feasts attended by tribes from hundreds of miles away were held when there was a good harvest.

• Austromyrtus dulcis – MIDYIM BERRY - This small shrub produces pretty white flowers in spring and summer. These are followed by edible, mauve and white speckled berries which are quite delicious.

• Backhousia citriodora – LEMON SCENTED MYRTLE – The exquisitely fresh lemon scented leaves have made this one of the most popular bush foods. The leaves are harvested for use in Asian cooking. They are also used to make nice tasting tea.

• Carpobrotus glaucescens – PIG FACE – Fruits of this fleshy creeper of the sand dunes ripen in summer and autumn. They have a delicious salty-apple flavour.

• Dianella congesta – FLAX LILY – The shiny, dark blue berries are edible. Aborigines ate the roots after pounding and roasting them on hot rocks. They used the fibre from the tough leaves to make baskets and nets.

• Eleaeocarpus grandis – BLUE QUANDONG – Indigenous Australians ate the fruit raw or buried the unripe fruit in sand for four days, making it sweet and more palatable. Early settlers used the fruit for jams, pies and pickles.

• Enchylaena tomentosa - RUBY SALT BUSH- ripened red fruit can be picked and eaten raw and is described as being salty-sweet in flavour, being picked by desert Indigenous Australians as a snack food and is still frequently collected today. Indigenous groups of the MacDonnell Ranges have been recorded to soak the fruits in water to make a sweetened tea.

• Sterculia quadrifida – PEANUT TREE – Leathery, boat shaped fruiting capsules ripen in summer. They split open to show a beautiful interior containing shiny, black, peanut-sized seeds. The seeds have a delicious, nutty flavour. Aborigines ate them raw or roasted. 

• Syzyguim luehmannii – SMALL LEAVED LILLY PILLY OR RIBERRY – The attractive red fruit of this ornamental small tree is a popular ingredient in many wild food dishes. 

• Tetragonia tetragonioides – WARRIGAL GREENS – These have similar flavour and texture to spinach and is cooked like spinach. Like spinach, it contains oxalates which need to be removed by blanching the leaves in hot water for one minute, then rinsing in cold water before cooking.