Among the native fruits, eleven prominent native species have been commercially produced in Australia including bush tomato, Davidson's plum, desert lime, finger lime, Kakadu plum, lemon aspen, muntries, quandong, Tasmanian pepper berry, and Illawarra plum.
Australia grows a wide range of deciduous fruits including apple, pear, grape, nashi, peach, nectarine, plum, apricot, cherry and to a lesser extent persimmon, kiwifruit and blueberries. About 70% of the current production occurs in temperate regions.
The green 'plum', a nutritious ancient fruit eaten in Arnhem Land 53–65,000 years ago, is under the microscope of bush food researchers, who say it could one day be as popular as table grapes.
Named in some regions as the "king of fruits", the durian is distinctive for its large size, strong odour, and thorn-covered rind.
Mangosteen (Garcinia mangostana) is considered the “Queen” of tropical fruit. The thick purple skin surrounds a number of white fleshed citrus like segments which may contain one or two seeds. Mangosteen is primarily grown in north Queensland (11,606 trees or 98.6% of total plantings).
The types of fruit and seed depended on the season and availability, but could include wild passionfruit, wild oranges, bush tomato, bush banana, bush plums, mulga seeds and wattle seeds. Aboriginal Australians would also gather honey and nectar from bees, honey ants, flowers and trees.
Banana. Of course, bananas had to be on the list! Australians eat more than five million of these golden yellow fruits every day – and they are the highest selling supermarket food.
The jabuticaba fruit is unusual in that it appears to blossom right out of the bark and trunk of its tree. The tree may even look covered in purple warts or pimples when it is fully in season, which may only happen once every six to eight years.
Enslaved African Americans foraged for pawpaws to supplement their diet, and at stations along the underground railroad they sometimes heard where to look for them. An old Appalachian folk song celebrates the fruit with lyrics that note that you can find pretty little Susie: “way down yonder in the pawpaw patch.”
Banana. This word is filled with 3 A's but we don't pronounce them all the same way because of syllable stress. The stressed syllable in this word is the second one.
Another really messy fruit is the king of them all - mangoes. However, they can still be cut and served in slices or cubes. But there is no way in hell you can relish the mango pit and not get sticky, messy hands and face.
On this note, Australia's Kakadu plum, Illawarra plum, Burdekin plum, Davidson's plum, riberry, red and yellow finger limes, Tasmanian pepper, brush cherry, Cedar Bay cherry, muntries and Molucca raspberry13 were all identified as exceptional sources of antioxidants like the Amazonian camu camu berries.
We are growers and suppliers of Australian native tropical fruits such as the Davidson's Plum, Lemon Aspen, Rainforest Cherry, Herbert River Cherry, Finger Limes and Rainforest Tamarind.
Examples of Australian native plant foods include the fruits quandong, kutjera, muntries, riberry, Davidson's plum, and finger lime. Native spices include lemon myrtle, mountain pepper, and the kakadu plum. Various native yams are valued as food, and a popular leafy vegetable is warrigal greens.
– Burdekin Plum. This close relative of the Mango is a native tropical rainforest tree. The deep purple fleshy plum-like fruits can be eaten raw, or used in wines, jams and jellies. Large, vigorous, attractive woody climber.
Quandong is a small Australian fruit with a bright red color and a slightly tart flavor that is often described as a cross between peaches and apricots.
Opened in 1964, the Big Banana was one of the first, and remains one of the most popular, Big Things in Australia.
Some well known edible native vegetables include yams, warrigal greens, native leek and water plantain. Australian natives offer a diverse and tasty range of vegetables to cultivate at home.