In
the very beginning Australia was an outlying region of Southern Gondwanaland.
Its
climate was warm-temperate to sub-tropical and humid. Contiguous lands included
Antarctica. India, South America, and Africa. Australia drifted north about 50
million years ago on a very stable geological plate. Consequently, it s
considered to be the oldest and most stable continent. As Australia drifted
north through the rainy latitudes its soil was depleted in nutrients and
minerals. Particular soil deficiencies are copper, molybdenum and zinc. Today
Australia lies squarely astride the Horse Latitudes. Australia is also the
flattest of the continents. About three quarters of the landmass is a vast
ancient plateau averaging about 1000 feet above sea level. A central portion is
lowland with an elevation of less than 500 feet, and in one place, is below sea
level. The eastern portion of the country is a highlands plateau with an
elevation averaging less than 3000 fret with a few peaks above 5000 feet.'
Although
Australia is completely encircled by warm ocean currents and is the lowest,
flattest continent, it is quite arid. The major reason is that it lies in a
region typified by high pressure and descending air currents of low velocity
There is no severe freezing temperatures are found only in a small region of die
south at high elevations. In the arid interior, summer temperatures are very
high. These rank with the hottest regions of the earth.
Australia
and Gondwanaland had similar flowering plants that appeared about 70 million
years ago. Subsequently Australia drifted away from its motherland. This voyage
was northward away from a warm, gentle climate. The primitive, evergreen plants
grew in long isolation, and were challenged by an arid climate and particularly
poor soil. This resulted in vegetation predominantly very different from that of
the rest of the world. Among the successful plants are the Myrtaceae family,
of which Australia has 45 genera and nearly 1200 species.
The
Eucalyptus genus is dominant, with more than 500 species. More than 600 species
of Acacia are found in Australia. There are 37 primitive members of the conifer
family, hut no true pines. As the northern end of the continent pushed into the
tropical latitudes occasional plant species entered from the tropics and spread
southward until limited by the desert. Today most native Australian plants are
unique and specialized for their environment.
Since
the Australian climate is in many ways similar to that of California the native
Australian fruits should readily adapt to our conditions. Cribb lists 178 fruit
and nuts that are in some fashion edible. There is a preponderance of large
seeded, tropical trees whose seed may be eaten as 'nuts' after they are leached
or boiled to remove toxins. There are numerous small conservation fruits that
are not of much value in their present state. These are deliberately omitted
here in favor of fruit with obvious potential for development in California. In
the following list, the letters in parentheses following the plant name refers
to the Australian province in which the plant is found. Antidesma is represented by seven species in
Australia. A. bunius and A. dallachyanum (QLD) are commonly found
as shrubs or small trees with simple, alternate leaves bearing inconspicuous
male and female flowers on different plants. The rounded fruits, mostly 6 to 12
mm across, vary in color from cream to red and purple-black. They have a very
acid pulp surrounding a central stone. A characteristic is that the fruit are
densely borne on tire stalk. A. dallachyanum may reach 2 cm across. These
plants are relatively tender and suffer damage below about 30'F
is
a low straggly, highly ornamental shrub producing one of the best edible native
fruits. The young leaves, about 2 cm long, air pink and silky. Its white flowers
are borne singly in the leaf axils, and are followed by currant-like fruits that
art pale lilac or almost white with darker purple flecks and about 1cm across.
The soft pulp has an aromatic, delicious flavor. The skin is very soft and seeds
small, so the whole fruit can be eaten with pleasure. The plant is said robe a
prolific fruiting plant, easy to grow from seed.
is
a large-growing pine valuable as an ornamental and a timber tire. The Bunya nut
is extracted from large cones. Its taste is a blend of chestnuts and pine nuts.
The nuts are pierced and then roasted. Fruiting trees are known in California.
B. longiflora is commonly grown for its blue fruit. Other
species are B. scandens with yellow or red berries, B. cymosa with
reddish berries, and B. mutabilis. Seed should be germinated at about
55'F.Capparis
Mitchelli "Small Native Pomegranate (Aus)
has
fruit from 1 to 2 inches in diameter and the pulp. which has an agreeable
perfume, is eaten by the natives.
C.
nobilis - "Native Pomegranate," (QLD, NSW) has fruit, 1 to 2
inches in diameter, which is eaten by the natives. Citrus is widely cultivated
in Australia. The native citrus species are notably different from all other
species of citrus, suggesting an isolated and diverging evolution. These are of
special interest as ornamentals having great vigor and unusual fruit and
foliage. Additionally they represent citrus relatives adapted to unusual soil
conditions, extreme drought or rain forest conditions.
Eremocitrus
glauca - "Desert Lime," (QLD)
is
a pronounced xerophyte growing in dry areas and dropping its leaves under the
stress of drought. in the summer it bears heavy crops of rounded yellow fruits 1
to 2 cm broad. Since its rind is soft and less bitter than most members of the
citrus group, the fruit makes an excellent marmalade.
Microcitrus
australasica, "Finger Lime," (QLD, NSW) is one of five subspecies
in Australia. It produces curious finger-shaped fruit about 1 inch in diameter
and 4 inches long. These can be sliced into rings and preserved. The very acrid
pulp has a harsh aftertaste.
Microcitrus
australis ~ "Round Lime (QLD, NSW) bears fruit the size of a large
walnut. The flavor is lemon-like with a harsh after-taste. Both Microcitrus
species are wry vigorous and good candidates as rootstock for citrus grown in
arid California lands.
Microcitrus
garrawayi (QLD) is a rare species similar to M. australasica. Microcitrus
inadora (QLD) is a rainforest species with fruit of good flavor.
Davidsonia
pruriens - Davidson's Plum, (QLD) is one of the best native fruits. Its
fruit is blue-black, plumIilre, with loose hairs on die surface. The flesh is
soft, juicy. purple and contains small, flattened seed with a fibrous coating.
The fruit is very acid, but stewed with sugar or made into jam or jelly it
provides a distinctive and most enjoyable food for anyone who likes a sharp
taste in preserves. The plant is striking in form and foliage.
Diploglottis
australis - Native Tamarind, {QLD) is a relative of the lychee found in the
Australian rain forest. The plant has a crown of very large, coarse-looking
pinnate leaves sometimes reaching 60 cm long. The yellow fruit has three rounded
lobes each about 1 to 2 cm broad and contains a single seed enclosed in an
orange, juicy jellylike pulp. This is very acid but pleasant and refreshing. For
those who find the taste too sour, a good drink can be made by boiling the
fruits with sugar and water. They can also be made into jam. D. campbelli
is very rare and much superior to D. australis. The fruit is a capsule,
usually three-lobed. Each lobe is 4 cm in diameter, smooth, hard, and enclosing
a single round seed. The pulp, a pleasantly add, juicy red aril, encloses the
single seed.
Eugenia
is well represented in Australia.
The
botanists are busy splitting this large family into a number of genera, but the
plants are closely related and for convenience are lumped together here.
Typically these fruit vary from I to 6 cm in diameter and are usually round to
pear-shaped. The majority have pleasant, crisp or pithy flesh that is sour and
aromatic. In some, the uninteresting fresh fruit develops an excellent flavor
when cooked. Paul Recher mentions E. suborbicularia and E carissoides
as the best.
Eugenia
smithii - Lilly Pilly, (QLD, NSW, NT) is grown fist its evergreen foliage
and showy berries. Fruit is depressed, globular, edible, and slightly acid. E.
operculata is a tree with ovate-elliptic leaves, 5 to 8 inches long. The
edible fruit is pea like, ripening from dark red to purple. Eugenia
suborbicularis has large, red fruit with a small stone and good flavor.
Syzygium
coolmanianum, Blue Lily Pilly, (QLD, NSW) is a shrub or small tree to 8
feet. The fruit is edible and of an unusual blue color.
Syzygium
leuhmannii - Cherry Alder (QLD, NSW) is common in rainforests near the
beach. The small, pear-shaped fruits are edible.
Syzygium
paniculatum - Brush Cherry is commonly grown in California as an ornamental.
The fruit is not often eaten. No improved fruiting varieties are known.
Hicksbeachia
pinnatifolia (QLD, NSW) is a stunning ornamental relative of the macadamia.
It bears large strap leaves up to 60 cm long, growing straight like a palm. Its
fruit is bright red and 2 to 3 cm wide. The seed encased in a bony shell is
edible, though inferior to the macadamia nut. The bright red rind is said to
numb the mouth if bitten in the mistaken idea that it is a fruit.
Macadamia
integrifolia (QLD) is probably the most common species in cultivation. Its
leaves usually occur in whorls of three and often it has leaves which are
without marginal teeth. M tetraphylla (QID) bears leaves mostly in whorls
of four and leaf margins are always toothed. M. whelanii (QLD) is a
rainforest tree that resembles the macadamia nut, but its kernel is poisonous
and extremely bitter. M praealta (QLD, NSW) is a rainforest tree with
round fruits, up to 5 cm across, containing one or two nuts with shells thinner
than the macadamia nut. The nut is said to have been popular with the
aborigines. Other species are M. terniflora and M beyana.
Nitraria
Schoberi - Karambi (AUS) is a dryland shrub that produces fruit the size of
an olive, of a red color and agreeable flavor.
Owenia
cerasifera - Queensland Plum, (QLD) is a plant that bears a fine juicy red
fruit with a large stone. When eaten fresh it is very acid, but after storage it
becomes palatable and refreshing.
Schinus
molle has fruit about an inch in diameter. The skin is rough. The pulp is of
a rich crimson color. The flavor is acid, but enjoyable. The large, rough stone
contains several seed.
Physalis
peruviana - Cape Gooseberry is common, and is a weed in sonic places. The
fruit is popular for jams and pies. They are better when cooked with an equal
amount of apple. Scarrot reports that jam made with ginger added is particularly
good. Fully ripe fruit can be dried into an attractive "raisin." A
striking feature is that the berry has an inflated papery calyx completely
enclosing it. Despite the small size and seediness, the intense flavor
recommends this for annual planting.
Pleiogynium
timorense - Burdekin Plum QLD, NSW) is a spreading tree with glossy, pinnate
leaves and purple-black fruits 3 to 4 cm broad, a little like flattened plums.
The flesh around the large, ribbed stone is acid and of reasonable flavor only
if completely ripe. At this time they are said to taste like indifferent
damsons.
Podocarpus
elatus - Brown Pine, (QLD, NSW)is a common rainforest tree belonging to the
pine family. Differing from most other members by lacking an obvious cone. The
round, greenish seed is seated at the apex of a larger fleshy stalk that
resembles a purple-black grape with a waxy bloom. This stalk is edible, but is
rather mucilaginous and resinous in flavor. It makes jam or jelly more
acceptable than the raw stalks.
Santalum
acuminatum - Sweet Quandong, (AUS) is a good-eating fruit and nut. Native to
the drier parts of Australia, it regularly fruits without supplemental water.
The rounded, pendulous fruits. 2 to 3 cm across, change from green to bright
red. The firm, fleshy layer surrounding the stone is edible when quite ripe.
This stage is usually indicated 1w the fruits failing to the ground or rattling
when shaken. Although the flesh is rather acid, it can be eaten raw, but is more
often made into highly prized pies, jams, and jellies. The stones are easily
removed and the flesh can be dried fur later use. The seed is said to also be
edible and to contain enough oil to bum like a candle. The seedlings are
partially parasitic and are best germinated with a host such as grasses,
acacias, or even citrus. A related species. S. album, is grown in India with Zizyphys
oenoplia as a host. To germinate Santalum seed, they are cracked in a
vise and the kernel removed. The surface is sterilized with sodium hypochlorite,
stored in slightly damp vermiculite, and put in a darkened area at 60 to 68 F
Germination is erratic.
Zizyphys
oenoplia (QLD), from the northernmost part of Australia, is a spiny.
sprawling shrub with black, acid, edible fruit less than 1 cm broad. It is a
candidate for the Florida area where other Zizyphys do not thrive. Z.
mauritiania and Z. jujuba are grown in Australia, though not common.
General
Comments
The
value of native citrus species has been recognised, some development is underway
using these as rootstock and bloodlines for commercial citrus. While the
Australian Eugenias are widely planted as ornamentals, no selections for fruit
are known to the author. About 40 years ago there was a fad for Eugenias. Many
were brought into California and grown as street trees. Some may yet survive.
The Eugenia is an attractive candidate for hybridizing to make it more variable
in the interest of selecting good fruit. Plants from the areas of extreme
climates may be rather specialized
in their requirements for growing from seed. Scattered hints suggest that the
desert types may germinate better at lower temperatures (55" to 6O"F)
rather than higher temperatures. Special treatment to overcome dormancy may be
important. Among these is soaking seed in small amounts of very hot water.