Hi All
Today's story is about a very unique Australian Native plant that many people may have seen in the bush, but not taken any notice of, as usually there is nothing that makes this plant stand out. Even when the plant is in flower, they are that small that they do not stand out and can only be visible when you stand right up close to the bush or tree.
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Santalum acuminatum or the
Quandong is a truly unique native Australian fruit whose tart-tasting fruit can be eaten fresh or, more commonly, halved and dried and then reconstituted and used in a range of sweet and savoury products, such as preserves, sauces and chutneys, as pie filling. The kernel is also edible.
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The
Quandong plant is a shrub or small tree, up to 6 metres high, with somewhat drooping branches and slender, pale green to olive leaves from 3 – 9 cm long that are paired along the stem. It can be found growing wild in the arid and semi-arid regions of all Australian mainland states. In the Northern Territory the Desert
Quandong is becoming scarce most likely as a result of camel grazing. Quandongs are commonly found in
woodlands as scattered individuals or small groups on sands, sandy loams or gravely ridges and occasionally on clay soils or rocky hillsides.
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Ideally adapted to arid environments, the
Quandong is a partially parasitic plant. Quandongs belong to the Santalum genus of plants and are related to Sandalwood, and more distantly to mistletoe, both of which are also parasitic. Unlike mistletoe which grows on the branches of its host plant, Quandongs attach to the roots of other plants (the host), using a specialized organ known as a haustorium. This pad-like organ is produced on the roots of Quandongs and partially envelopes and forms a connection with the roots of the host plants. This allows the
quandong to simply take what water and nutrients it can get from the host, while still producing some of its own food through photosynthesis in its green leaves. Research conducted by Ms Beth Byrne at the Waite Institute,
Adelaide Uni has shown that a
Quandong can get all of its water and nutrient from a host plant. The best host plants are surface rooted, water storing, nutrient hungry plants. This includes all acacias,
casuarinas and olives as
well as many other trees and shrubs.
Quandong trees can tolerate high soil salinity levels.
Flowering occurs on one year old wood commencing in late autumn and continuing through to early autumn. Off-season flowering may also occur in response to favourable weather conditions. Insects, including bees, native bees and wasps, appear to be the main insects for pollen distribution. The flowers are in pyramid shaped panicles at the end of the branchlets can be green or white on the outer parts, yellow or reddish brown on the inner faces and the individual flowers are approximately 2 – 4 mm long.
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Fruit, which may reach 25mm across, begins to change colour from green to red in late winter and ripen during spring. The stone of the fruit is deeply pitted.
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Aboriginal Bush Tucker
Traditionally the
Quandong was an important food source for Australian Aborigines. Amongst male members of central Australia's Pitjantjara people,
Quandong were considered a suitable substitute for meat - especially when hunting game was in short supply. Around
the Everard Ranges,
Quandong gathering and food preparation was considered Pitjantjara women's business. Ripe red
Quandong fruits would be eaten raw or dried for later use. Everard Ranges Aboriginal women would collect Quandongs in bark dishes, separate the edible fruit from the pitted stone, and then roll the edible fruit into a ball The
Quandong ball was then broken up for consumption by the tribal group.
Medicinal Uses of the
Quandong
Amongst Australian aborigines Quandongs were much valued for their medicinal properties. Specialised uses of the
Quandong included a form of tea which was drunk as a purgative.
Quandong tree roots were also ground down and used as an infusion for the treatment of rheumatism.
Quandong leaves were crushed and mixed with saliva to produce a topical ointment for skin sores and boils. Encased within each
Quandong seed is an oil rich kernel which was also processed in a similar fashion to treat skin disorders.
Quandong kernels could also be eaten and some tribal groups were known to employ crushed kernels as a form of "hair conditioning oil". Ingeniously Australia's aborigines appeared to be aware that Quandongs were a preferred food source of emus, and that a ready supply of
Quandong seeds could be found in their droppings.
European Use of the
Quandong
Australia's early pastoralists also discovered their own unique uses for the
Quandong. Away from homesteads for weeks at a time, stockmen would often bake dampers infused with
Quandong leaves. The result was apparently a refreshing change from the usual damper. When in season, many farmers would also take their families out for a
Quandong picnic. After gathering Quandongs the peeled fruit was used to make a variety of jams, chutneys and
Quandong pies. Such treats were often the only delicacies to be had - especially during drought and depression years when money was short. Today successive generations of rural Australians continue with their
Quandong picking traditions.
Domestication of the
Quandong
During the past 30 years the
Quandong has become a firm favourite of Australia's burgeoning bush food industry. Commercial
Quandong plantations are now an economic reality. True domestication of the
Quandong remains some way off however - not altogether surprising given that established fruit varieties such as apples have been undergoing continuous selection and development for thousands of years. Since 1973 the CSIRO has been actively conducting scientific research into developing improved commercial
Quandong cultivars.
The aim of such research has been to produce a
bright red
Quandong with good eye appeal, improved flesh texture, and a palatable mix of
Quandong flavours, tannins and food acids. To date the quest for the perfect
Quandong has proven elusive. Should CSIRO be successful however, then the
Quandong will have become only the second Australian food plant species to have been successfully domesticated. Bring it on CSIRO!
Queer
Quandong Facts
• Fossilised Quandongs have been discovered in the coal seams of Southern Victoria. Apparently these fossils date from 40 million years ago - a time when Australia was still linked to the Antarctic continent.
• Australian people often refer to Quandongs as the Wild Peach, Desert Peach or Native Peach.
• Quandongs have vitamin C content higher than oranges and almost certainly saved many early Australian
explorers from scurvy.
•
Quandong fruit can be dried and frozen for 8 years or more, without losing any flavour whatsoever.
• Like the related Sandalwood,
Quandong trees possess an aromatic wood that was traditionally used by aboriginal people in "smoking ceremonies".
• Rural Australian children often used
Quandong seeds as Chinese Checker pieces.
• Santalum acuminatum is unrelated to the Blue
Quandong (Elaeocarpus augustifolius) of the Wet Tropics, whose fruit is relished by Cassowaries and Musky Rat-kangaroos.