Australian Native Fruits

[BMc]

Thought it was time to start a post on fruits native to Australia, particularly the north east. I know Mike and I have posted a few things in other topics, but I'll make something consolidated and searchable.
Australia has thousands of fruit and nut species. The vast majority are unknown in terms of fruit quality and are left as bird food. Only very recently have Australians started to make selections and improve the quality of native fruits (the Hawaiians beat us to it a long time ago and people dont want this to happen again!  ) .
Here are a few quick resources:
There are a few books around, mostly titled 'bushfood something or other', but the new standard is this mega book: http://nokomis.com.au/fruits.html - it doesnt give descriptions of taste, but has excellent illustartions (no photos) and info on leaves, growth, range.
There are excellent flckr streams for photos and a bit of info on some of the fruits:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/blackdiamondimages/galleries/72157622413457084/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/blackdiamondimages/sets/72157603847871217/
http://www.flickr.com/groups/australianrainforestplants/
Here are a few nurseries that have harder to find cultivated species:
http://www.yuruga.com.au/stock-lists/bush-tucker-plants/
http://www.burringbarbotanicgardens.com/
http://www.daleysfruit.com.au/bushfoodintro.htm


Anywho, thats a start. I bet Mike has much better and more info. Im certain he'd have some killer photos too.
Will update as I remeber more.

[Ethan]

Very interesting topic BMc, thank you for starting this.  Are you currently growing any, have you eaten any, have you tried atractocarpus/randia fitzalanii (brown gardenia/yellow mangosteen)?  The flowers are probably the best smelling ones in my garden.

cheers,
-Ethan

[BMc]

i've not tried eating the yellow or brown gardenia. They are a lovely tree though. I took photos of a beauty in full fruit around the corner at a stripmall. This is the large yellow fruited one. There is another with fruit resembling a sapodilla with a more rangy habit, but fruit seems inedible on that one. i may try the fruit of this one, but I dont hold much hope for taste as its grown quite widely more for foliage and fragrance of the flowers.
 

[Mike T]

They are very common around here in the bush and as a street tree.I tried them a few times a long time ago and all I remember is that they are forgettable.There is little flesh and even most of the wildlife turn there noses up at them.

[Guanabanus]

Last week my first Finger-Sops ripened.  They are Meiogyne cylindrocarpa (syn: Polyaulax c.), in the same botanical family as Annona.   

[They have often erroneously been called "finger-limes", which actually are in the same botanical family as Citrus.  Both are long fruits that are native to eastern Australia, but that is all that they have in common.]

Finger-Sops are shiny, bright orange-red, with three or four fruitlets angling out at odd directions from a central connection.  They are very seedy, with scant, very mild but pleasantly-flavored orange pulp.  The plant is a heavily branched, tiny leafed bush about five feet tall (at least so far).  It seems to be well adapted as an understory plant.  I pruned trees over it when I noticed it was full of fruits.  It is now doing equally well in full sun.

[fruitlovers]

Last week my first Finger-Sops ripened.  They are Meiogyne cylindrocarpa (syn: Polyaulax c.), in the same botanical family as Annona.   

[They have often erroneously been called "finger-limes", which actually are in the same botanical family as Citrus.  Both are long fruits that are native to eastern Australia, but that is all that they have in common.]

Finger-Sops are shiny, bright orange-red, with three or four fruitlets angling out at odd directions from a central connection.  They are very seedy, with scant, very mild but pleasantly-flavored orange pulp.  The plant is a heavily branched, tiny leafed bush about five feet tall (at least so far).  It seems to be well adapted as an understory plant.  I pruned trees over it when I noticed it was full of fruits.  It is now doing equally well in full sun.

Thanks for the report Har. I have a bunch of seedlings (thanks to Ed) and was wondering about the taste of this fruit. None of the seeds of same that i planted seem to have come up?

[Ethan]

Thank you for the information BMc and Mike, it is unfortunate that fruits are not better but the flowers alone make it worth growing!

Congrats Har, since the mix up on the CRFG magazine, this has been one of those fruits on my radar.  Glad to hear they are decent to eat.  If you find yourself w/extra seeds I'd be happy to buy/trade for a few.

-Ethan

[Fruitguy]

Can someone please identify the long red fruit in this picture?  It was supposedly brought in from Australia under the name "fingerlime" but it is not.

[Guanabanus]

Fruitguy,
This is the Finger-Sop that I described above.  "Finger-Sop" is my name for it, corrected from "Finger-Lime", which is the correct common name for a species in the Microcitrus genus.

"Sop" (a tasty tidbit), is already commonly known as the suffix in Soursop, Mountain-Soursop, and Sweetsop (sugar-apple), and I have used it in "Cerrado-Sop".

[Guanabanus]

Oscar,
The two seeds I received from Crafton years ago, he had received from an Australian colleague at Nong-Nooch Botanic Garden.  I suppose they had been stored dry for several weeks or months before I received them.  Both grew, but I don't remember how long they took to germinate.

[Storing ilama seeds dry at room temperature for 6-12 months greatly increases germination.  Fresh doesn't work.]

[Fruitguy]

Fruitguy,
This is the Finger-Sop that I described above.  "Finger-Sop" is my name for it, corrected from "Finger-Lime", which is the correct common name for a species in the Microcitrus genus.

Har, I had an inkling when you posted the description.  Thank you for the confirmation.  Now that I have the botanical name, I see that you and Adam had posted on it previously, including a photo by Adam.  Thank you both!

[BMc]

In terms of 'finger-sops', there are probably a few that could jump on that name (I understood the now suffix 'sop' to mean bread and milk, or bread pudding, in olde English). Melodorum leichartii is a goodun. I've heard of reports of a respectable tasting Pseuduvaria, but havent been able to find out which one it is, nor taste it first hand. All bear 'hands' of finger shaped fruit.

[ScottR]

BMc, do you know anything about Manilkara discolor I have a few seedlings in the ground but there very slow growers!

[fruitlovers]

Fruitguy,
This is the Finger-Sop that I described above.  "Finger-Sop" is my name for it, corrected from "Finger-Lime", which is the correct common name for a species in the Microcitrus genus.

Har, I had an inkling when you posted the description.  Thank you for the confirmation.  Now that I have the botanical name, I see that you and Adam had posted on it previously, including a photo by Adam.  Thank you both!

Warren, just in case you don't already know it, there is a tree of this fingersop fruit at Fruit and Spice Park. Thanks Har for new name. I like that better than previous suggestion of sausage fruit, which can be confused with Kigelia.

[BMc]

BMc, do you know anything about Manilkara discolor I have a few seedlings in the ground but there very slow growers!

Do you have any pics? Manikara discolor doesnt ring any bells. Manilkara kauki on the other hand can be a good fruit. Highly variable though. The best ones do taste like dates.

[Mike T]

BMc in a previous life I collected many rainforest fruits in the wet tropics of NQ and only tried maybe 50.I found it interesting that a species could have fruit that tasted quite different off different trees.Of the wild fruits Lady Apples (S.suborbiculare),some Eupamatias,occasional S.fibrosum,some burdekin plums,some atherton raspberries,calamus,Athertonia,diploglottus,some millaa vine (Ealeagnathus) and S.tierneyanum tasted alright.Various blue quandongs,cedar bay cherries,Davidsonia,all figs,terminalias, native mangosteen and brown gardenia were all disappointing.Lemon aspen and a few others were just too strong.
I picked up fruit from the 2 local Psuedovarias but never tried the fruit.
I am not a fan of the fingersop name and don't think it would catch on here.

[fruitlovers]

BMc in a previous life I collected many rainforest fruits in the wet tropics of NQ and only tried maybe 50.I found it interesting that a species could have fruit that tasted quite different off different trees.Of the wild fruits Lady Apples (S.suborbiculare),some Eupamatias,occasional S.fibrosum,some burdekin plums,some atherton raspberries,calamus,Athertonia,diploglottus,some millaa vine (Ealeagnathus) and S.tierneyanum tasted alright.Various blue quandongs,cedar bay cherries,Davidsonia,all figs,terminalias, native mangosteen and brown gardenia were all disappointing.Lemon aspen and a few others were just too strong.
I picked up fruit from the 2 local Psuedovarias but never tried the fruit.
I am not a fan of the fingersop name and don't think it would catch on here.

Does it have a local name?

[Mike T]

My mistake I thought the reference was to fingerlime and sop being a whitish,bland gruel didn't seem to fit.Meiogyne cylindrocarpa is all over indonesia,NG,south pacific and northern australia and has been placed in at least 6 genera lately.I don't know a common name.

[Fruitguy]

Warren, just in case you don't already know it, there is a tree of this fingersop fruit at Fruit and Spice Park. Thanks Har for new name. I like that better than previous suggestion of sausage fruit, which can be confused with Kigelia.

Yes, this is where I took the picture.  I had not seen this fruit before.  Chris Rollins said that it was brought in by the Rare Fruit Council many years ago under the mistaken name fingerlime, but he didn't know the botanical name.  Now thanks to the group, I can let him know!

[Soren]

BMc, do you know anything about Manilkara discolor I have a few seedlings in the ground but there very slow growers!

ScottR - Manilkara discolor is an African native and is considered a descent wild fruit - it has a large geographical range and also grows here in Uganda.

[Mike T]

Discolor is not in australia but kauki is native.

[BMc]

BMc, do you know anything about Manilkara discolor I have a few seedlings in the ground but there very slow growers!

ScottR - Manilkara discolor is an African native and is considered a descent wild fruit - it has a large geographical range and also grows here in Uganda.

I thought so. I thought Scott was either talking about the African species, or another similar Australian native that had its name mixed up, like Mimusops elengi or Pouteria chartacea/Planchonella chartacea.

[ScottR]

Sorry BMc, I must of had a brain fart!! I did get the seeds from South Africa you were right on Soren thanks.

[fruitlovers]

Warren, just in case you don't already know it, there is a tree of this fingersop fruit at Fruit and Spice Park. Thanks Har for new name. I like that better than previous suggestion of sausage fruit, which can be confused with Kigelia.

Yes, this is where I took the picture.  I had not seen this fruit before.  Chris Rollins said that it was brought in by the Rare Fruit Council many years ago under the mistaken name fingerlime, but he didn't know the botanical name.  Now thanks to the group, I can let him know!

I think it was Maurice Kong that brought the seeds in from one of his forays in Australia. He called the fruit finger lime in his article in CRFG Fruit Gardener magazine and that caused a bit of confusion and stir.

[FlyingFoxFruits]

Oh what the heck, I figured google didn't have enough pics of this species...maybe these pics will pop up first when people search for the fruit in google.

This time the fruits tasted much more like a sugar apple, and black sapote.  Not very sweet, but definitely not bland.  It had a very floral taste (like black sap), but a definite annona overtone (sugar apple).  Not a premiere fruit by any means, but very interesting, and worthy of appreciation  for the annona obsessed growers.