Bushtucker @ Osprey House

These are the trees and plants that are found in the Osprey House environs and their uses as bushtucker and medicine.

Remember never to touch or use bushtucker and/or medicine without knowledgeable adult supervision.

	Grey Mangrove - Avicennia marina Pollen is bee's food source to make honey. Bitter fruits crushed, soaked/boiled in salt water, then roasted & eaten. Light, strong timber made into boats, shields, digging sticks, spears & boomerangs. Inner bark rubbed on stingray & stonefish stings.
Red Mangrove - Rhizophora stylosa Reddish bark used for dye & tannins. Wood used for spears & boomerangs & as firewood.
	River Mangrove - Aegiceras corniculatum Pollen is bee's food source to make honey. Salt is exuded out onto the leaves.
Cotton Tree - Hibiscus tiliaceus Timber light & easily worked; used for fishing spears, fire sticks & canoes. Inner bark fibre used for cord, fishing nets & lines. Shoots & buds edible after cooking. Bark infusion used as antiseptic for wounds which were then covered with the bark. Wood also used for splints. Infusions could cool fevers & soothe coughs (leaves); treat dysentery (bark); ear infections & abscesses (flowers); & was also a laxative (bark & flowers).
	Qld Blue Gum - Eucalyptus tereticornis Bark used for canoes, as roofing material, torches, bowls. Wood used for dishes, digging sticks & clubs.Wood for shields. Source of honey. Sweet nectar drank.
Qld Grey Iron Bark - Eucalyptus siderophloia Bark used for canoes, as roofing material, torches, bowls. Wood used for dishes, digging sticks & clubs. Red wood used for shields & firewood; bridges & poles Bark contains resins Flowers can be soaked in water to make a sweet drink
	Coastal She-Oak - Casuarina equisetifolia Wood for tannins, dyes, timber, firewood & charcoal. Seeds taste like caraway. Bitter bark extract used to treat diarrhoea & dysentery was gargled for sore throat; green seeds & shoots numbed toothache.
Swamp She-Oak - Casuarina glauca Wood used for fuel & charcoal & for carving. Bark used for canoe hulls.
	Black She-Oak - Allocasuarina littoralis Wood for carving boomerangs & firewood.
Wombat Berry - Eustrephus latifolius The flesh of orange fruit, & tubers was eaten raw
	Scrambling Lily - Geitonoplesium cymosum Fibre used for ropes. New shoots tender & can be cooked like asparagus.
Mistletoe - Lysiana maritima Aborigines of Stradbroke Island made a chewing gum by chewing the half-ripe fruits
	Ruby Salt Bush - Enchylaena tomentosa Round, red berries salty-sweet, & can be soaked in water & the liquid drank like sweetened tea. Leaves can be cooked like spinach to remove toxins & eaten in small amounts. Is high in Vitamin C.
Sea Purslane - Sesuvium portulacastrum Leaves & stems edible raw or cooked, but causes throat irritation
	Wandering Jew - Commelina diffusa Blue dye can be extracted from flowers All parts are edible & contain high levels of Vitamin C
Berry Saltbush - Einadia hastata Sweet red berries are edible. Leaves edible after boiling to remove salt.
	Warrigal Greens - Tetragonia tetragonioides Was first eaten to prevent scurvy. Young stems & leaves can be eaten as vegetables after blanching to remove toxins.
Prostrate Boobiala - Myoporum boninense ssp. Australe Peppery ripe purple/pink berries eaten
	Tuckeroo - Cupaniopsis anacardioides Timber used in woodwork & carving Yellow-orange berries are edible
Black Wattle - Acacia concurrens Bark & wood for carving Seeds & roots were eaten Bark infusion for coughs & colds
	Maiden’s Wattle - Acacia Maidenii Good firewood. Sugary clear sap able to be drunk. Green seeds roasted & hard seeds roasted & ground before eating .
Fringe Wattle - Acacia fimbriata Gum & seeds used as a source of bush-tucker.
	Flax Lily - Dianella longifolia, brevipedunculata, caerulea Leaves used for baskets, belts & traps. Ripe blue berries can be eaten raw or cooked. Roots pounded into flour & roasted.
Lomandra hystix & longifolia Long leaves used for nets, tools, bags & belts. Soft white leaf-base edible & tastes like green peas. Seeds & sweet flowers ground into a flour.
	Slender Grapefruit - Cayratia clematidea Round, black berry tastes pleasant but can irritate throat. Small underground tubers prepared by beating them on stones before roasting.
Cockspur Thorn - Maclura cochinchinensis Thorns used for fishing. Edible orange globular fleshy seeds.

Osprey House would like to thank Lisa Stevenson for the information and images.

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Bushtucker @ Osprey House