Bush Tucker
I have a very keen interest in bush tucker, and have had for some time now. I will be working towards placing up information about bush tucker and some photos and links for you to view with the hope we can bring back some education about plants (fruit, seeds, roots, leaves, flowers etc) that some people may not know are edible.
Not all of the plants contained are native to Australia or to our local area, however all plants can be found localy and in most cases in quite an abundance. If you are using the information to collect bush food please ensure you dont over indulge to the point you are starving the environment of its reproductive ability.
MORE INFORMATION TO COME SOON.
Pigfaces (Carpobrotus)
I was reading a bush tucker book (Wild Food Plants of Australia) and this was inside. Knowing I had seen this plant at the beach before I went in search. Over time I have now managed to get the art of picking the tastiest of the fruit at the point where it is most delicious. I will advise more of my results in this search soon.
Bunya Pine (Araucaria bidwillii)
Having taken on a job to clean a large 35m tall Bunya Pine of its fruit to prevent damage to the buildings underneath and having an idea that the nuts were edible I kept the large cones and took them home. Did some reading and what do you know, they are edible and quite tasty. A little starchy but nothing a litle drying or roasting doesnt solve. I am yet to try these large nuts in some cooking dishes.
Queen Palm [Often referred to as the Cocos Palm] (Syagrus romanzoffiana)
Having cleaned up and cut down these annoying palm trees for many years now, it wasnt until I was at Peats Ridge Festival 2010 that a mate of mine Jake Cassar (who knows more about bush tucker than anyone else I know) was doing his usual bush tucker talks and I noticed he had ripe seeds from this plant in his collection. I tried it and well I must say I was extremely surprised. Quite fibrous though very nice indeed. It sure makes cleaning up one with ripe fruit a little more enjoyable these days,
Geebungs: Broad Leaved Geebung (Persoonia levis), Narrow Leaved Geebung (Persoonia linearis)
There are 2 types of Geebungs I have come across sofar. The most common one I see all the time on the side of the roadway (and quite often at a quick glance looks like a young bitou bush plant, which is annoying) is the Broad Leaved Geebung.
Sour Bush Currant (Leptomeria acida)
Quite a sour taste, but can easily keep eating them. Quite addictive. I am yet to find these anywhere other than Girrakool where a Jake Cassar introduced me to these . I will let you all know when I do.
Wombat Berry (Eustrephus latifolius)
I stumbled across the Wombat Berry whilst on a job in Phegans Bay. I arrived at the job and noticed this small stringy plant with bright yellow fruit growing on the wire fence. As I quite often do (and always get into trouble from my girlfriend for) I picked one and gave it a small taste. Quite nice, nothing too tasty, but certainly not bitter. Tried a few more, then left it for a while to finish the job. At the end I noticed some more plants and tried some more, no adverse affects. Once I was home I looked up in the trusty bush tucker bible (Wild Food Plants of Australia) and sure enough I was able to identify this.
Jelly Palm, Wine Palm (Butia capitata)
I had taken my girlfriend out for a valentines dinner a day early as we had alternate arrangements on V Day. Dinner was amazing, though we arent here to talk about that. We left the restaurant heading back towards the car we passed over Parramatta river, stopped for a small moment to enjoy the view, many bats were flying about it was quite a different scenery to what we were used to. We continued towards the car and as we were passing Prince Alfred Park in Parramatta Jenny pointed to some white roses in the garden and said "Lets stop and smell the roses!" I said "sure, no worries!" Jenny stopped at the roses, meanwhile I caught a glimpse in the dark of some seed pods on an unidentified tree. I stopped at the tree, pulled off some seeds took a look at them, they didnt look edible, or tasty or even anything in between, by this stage Jenny looked at me, kind of in disbelief as she knew what was going through my mind. As she had finished with the roses, we continued to head for the car. 10 or so metres away at the base of a palm tree, I saw some quite large fruit which this time did indeed look appetising. I stopped, picked one up and all I remember hearing was Jenny saying "Don't eat that, you will get some wierd bat disease!" It was too late. I had already began tasting the fruit. "Mmmmmm Yum!" I exclaimed. I finished this fruit off, there were only half eaten fruit left on the ground. I tried to shake the tree, at which point a bat flew away and another half eaten piece of fruit dropped to the ground. I heard Jenny saying "See, look even the bats dont want to eat it, it cant be any good for you!" After throwing some fallen bark at the seeds and a few falling. I eventually coaxed Jenny into trying one. "Ohhh yum, tastes like pineapple" We ate a few more, collected a few more to take home and off we went.
DISCLAIMER: The information is provided on an as is basis. There has been no scientific or lab testing performed on any of the plant or plant material mentioned in this section. The information is provided without any warranty and no responsibility for any incident arising out of the use of the information contained within this section. Please be very careful when eating any bush food and make sure you know what you are doing.