wild food plants near you

paradisi · 07-20-2008, 10:12 PM

Since moving to Dicky Beach about 5 years ago I've seen a lot of the suburb and the beaches and dunes and noticed all of hte wild fruiting plants around the place.

Here's a list of what I've found within an hurs walk of home - what do you have growing nearby - and just ready for the taking?

monsteria deliciosa - the plants and the fruit
guava - several types, cherry, yellow, and a yellow as big as a baseball
lilli pilli - dozens of types - nearly all edible, some very nice
loquat
bananas (I think they are ladyfinger - the possums use them as a food source - our possums are nothing like the ones you have in the USA)
prickly pear
pigs face (Disphyma australe and Google Image Result for http://www.hartill.net/Oz/Images/IMG_1670.jpg can't find the botanical name for it)
oranges, lemons, rough lemon, olives, midyim berry,
blue quandong (supposed to be edible, I think the books have just used edible to describe something that isn't poisonous - a foul tasting fruit)

and more that don't come to mind just yet

mskitty38583 · 07-21-2008, 09:07 AM

i grow monstera deli... its in my house in the den. its the first season ive had it and i didnt want to take any chances on it. next spring the whole pot will be moved outside till winter. i dont like possoms they stink. lol.

Richard · 07-21-2008, 09:54 AM

Paradisi - much of what you've listed are not native. So they are left over from old farms, or ?

Have you tried the native or cultivated Apple Berry (Billardiera scandens) ?

paradisi · 07-21-2008, 05:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Richard

Paradisi - much of what you've listed are not native. So they are left over from old farms, or ?

Have you tried the native or cultivated Apple Berry (Billardiera scandens) ?

I think a lot of them are dumped waste that survived and stuff carried there by possums. And what's there does flower and probably sets seeds - there's some aloe vera that flowered last year and quite a few different types of bromeliad.

The bananas are growing in the middle of the waterway - the creek only runs when it rains.

At one spot there are two clumps of lobster claw heliconia - about 3 metres tall and nearly two square metres each - huge plants. I pick half a dozen or so of the lobster claws when they flower - brilliant as an indoor display.

I've seen the apple berry growing in the mountains around Canberra, but haven't noticed it up here - it's supposed to be native to this area too.

lorax · 07-21-2008, 07:51 PM

Ok, here goes! I'll try to list the natives first. These are generally representative of the bush tucker within an hour's drive of where I am.

Solanum quitoense (Naranjilla)
Solanum betaceae (Tamarillo or Tomate de Arbol)
Solanum iforgetwhichone (Pepinillo Dulce)
Physalis peruviana (Uvilla)
Pouteria sapota (Mamey sapote)
Fuschia boliviana
Passiflora mixto (Taxo)
Passiflora ?? (Sachataxo)
Passiflora edulis (Maracuya)
Passiflora ligularis (Granadilla)
Passiflora quadrangulis (Granadilla Gigante)
Ananas cosmosus (Pineapple)
Bactris gaseapes (Chontaduro)
Parajubea cocoides (Quito Palm)
Selenocerus megalanthus (Yellow Pitahaya)
Carica papaya (Papaya)
Vasconcella pentangula (Babaco)
Vasconcella spp (other Papaya relatives like the Mito)
Annona cherimola (Chirimoya)
Annona iforgetwhichone (Guayabana)
Uva de Monte (no idea what the species is)
Juglans neotropica (Andean black walnut)

And the non-natives
Musa x cavendish
Musa spp (Oritos, Rosados, Sedas, Gros Michel)
Monstera deliciosa
Colocasia esculenta (Taro)
Manihot esculenta (Yucca)
Atrocarpus altilis (Breadfruit)
Psidium guajava (Guava)
Eritrobotium japonica (Loquat)
Citrus spp (any number of oranges, lemons, etc.)

there are probably more I'm missing; in the bush I can generally just look at a plant and know whether it's food or not.

Dean W. · 07-21-2008, 09:50 PM

Wow, that's a list!

paradisi · 07-21-2008, 10:14 PM

Lorax that's brilliant, what a list

we've got a granadilla struggling over here - we have to hand pollinate - there's nothing here that has figured out the flower is worth going to to get pollen...

excellent fruit though...

lorax · 07-22-2008, 10:24 AM

Thanks, Paradisi. Here, the natural pollinator for Granadillas is a huge black carpenter bee, although they also seem to attract some of the larger brown scarab beetles.

I actually realize that I missed a really important one - Avocadoes! They're everywhere, they're everywhere!

And Poma Rosa (Szygium jambos) is almost invasive.

CookieCows · 07-22-2008, 11:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lorax

Ok, here goes! I'll try to list the natives first. These are generally representative of the bush tucker within an hour's drive of where I am.

Solanum quitoense (Naranjilla)
Solanum betaceae (Tamarillo or Tomate de Arbol)
Solanum iforgetwhichone (Pepinillo Dulce)
Physalis peruviana (Uvilla)
Pouteria sapota (Mamey sapote)
Fuschia boliviana
Passiflora mixto (Taxo)
Passiflora ?? (Sachataxo)
Passiflora edulis (Maracuya)
Passiflora ligularis (Granadilla)
Passiflora quadrangulis (Granadilla Gigante)
Ananas cosmosus (Pineapple)
Bactris gaseapes (Chontaduro)
Parajubea cocoides (Quito Palm)
Selenocerus megalanthus (Yellow Pitahaya)
Carica papaya (Papaya)
Vasconcella pentangula (Babaco)
Vasconcella spp (other Papaya relatives like the Mito)
Annona cherimola (Chirimoya)
Annona iforgetwhichone (Guayabana)
Uva de Monte (no idea what the species is)
Juglans neotropica (Andean black walnut)

And the non-natives
Musa x cavendish
Musa spp (Oritos, Rosados, Sedas, Gros Michel)
Monstera deliciosa
Colocasia esculenta (Taro)
Manihot esculenta (Yucca)
Atrocarpus altilis (Breadfruit)
Psidium guajava (Guava)
Eritrobotium japonica (Loquat)
Citrus spp (any number of oranges, lemons, etc.)

there are probably more I'm missing; in the bush I can generally just look at a plant and know whether it's food or not.

Show off!!!!

You know how I feel about that list! I haven't had time to start my spanish lessons yet but my husband found some software we had bought for our daughter several years ago. My whole family knows that "Nana" wants to move to Ecuador. My grand daughter is concerned about those volcanos though.

Off the top of my head all I can think of around us is blackberries, pokeweed and wild gingsing. I don't touch the pokeweed and am still waiting for a neighbor to walk the woods with my husband to show him what the gingsing looks like. Blackberries are picked on a regular basis while they last though.

Richard · 07-22-2008, 01:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lorax

Ok, here goes! I'll try to list the natives first. These are generally representative of the bush tucker within an hour's drive of where I am.
...

island cassie · 07-22-2008, 09:44 PM

Mostly seagrape and dominican almond with papaya, assorted bananas/plantains and chinola (passion fruit), noni (yuk!), lime - hard to tell which are native (not many I expect) and which are escapees, but these all grow widely in the scrub. Other fruiting trees that no-one seems to be able to identify. (note to self - must try harder to identify - so many fascinating plants - so little time!). People keep saying to me "what do you do all day - how do you fill your time?" and I don't know how to answer as there are not enough hours in the day. I guess that if you only like magazines and painting your nails - then life would be boring here - but if you like plants.....

Cassie

lorax · 07-23-2008, 11:30 AM

Oh, blackberries! Our own natives are considered an invasive species - they're absolutely everywhere!

07-20-2008, 10:12 PM	#1 (permalink)
paradisi The news from Dicky Beach paradisi's Photo Gallery Location: Dicky Beach, Australia Find me on the map! Name: paradisi Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 107 BananaBucks : 93,055 Feedback: 0 / 0% Said "Thanks" 41 Times Was Thanked 82 Times in 37 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 0 Times	wild food plants near you Since moving to Dicky Beach about 5 years ago I've seen a lot of the suburb and the beaches and dunes and noticed all of hte wild fruiting plants around the place. Here's a list of what I've found within an hurs walk of home - what do you have growing nearby - and just ready for the taking? monsteria deliciosa - the plants and the fruit guava - several types, cherry, yellow, and a yellow as big as a baseball lilli pilli - dozens of types - nearly all edible, some very nice loquat bananas (I think they are ladyfinger - the possums use them as a food source - our possums are nothing like the ones you have in the USA) prickly pear pigs face (Disphyma australe and Google Image Result for http://www.hartill.net/Oz/Images/IMG_1670.jpg can't find the botanical name for it) oranges, lemons, rough lemon, olives, midyim berry, blue quandong (supposed to be edible, I think the books have just used edible to describe something that isn't poisonous - a foul tasting fruit) and more that don't come to mind just yet __________________ The universe is my eyes and ears. All else is hearsay.

07-21-2008, 09:07 AM	#2 (permalink)
mskitty38583 banana junkie mskitty38583 's Photo Gallery Location: north carolina Find me on the map! Zone: 7b Name: mskitty Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 4,071 BananaBucks : 194,196 Feedback: 26 / 100% Said "Thanks" 82 Times Was Thanked 890 Times in 617 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 136 Times	Re: wild food plants near you i grow monstera deli... its in my house in the den. its the first season ive had it and i didnt want to take any chances on it. next spring the whole pot will be moved outside till winter. i dont like possoms they stink. lol. __________________ WELCOME TO THE GATOR NATION

07-21-2008, 09:54 AM	#3 (permalink)
Richard un-Retired Richard's Photo Gallery Location: Vista, CA Find me on the map! Zone: USDA 10b Name: Richard Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 9,674 BananaBucks : 553,538 Feedback: 9 / 100% Said "Thanks" 3,636 Times Was Thanked 12,543 Times in 4,721 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 1,685 Times	Re: wild food plants near you Paradisi - much of what you've listed are not native. So they are left over from old farms, or ? Have you tried the native or cultivated Apple Berry (Billardiera scandens) ? __________________ Back in business at plantsthatproduce.com

07-21-2008, 07:51 PM	#5 (permalink)
lorax Banned lorax's Photo Gallery Location: Ecuador, South America Find me on the map! Zone: USDA 13 / Köppen-Geiger BSh Name: Lorax Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 2,532 BananaBucks : 310,210 Feedback: 0 / 0% Said "Thanks" 742 Times Was Thanked 3,040 Times in 1,188 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 464 Times	Re: wild food plants near you Ok, here goes! I'll try to list the natives first. These are generally representative of the bush tucker within an hour's drive of where I am. Solanum quitoense (Naranjilla) Solanum betaceae (Tamarillo or Tomate de Arbol) Solanum iforgetwhichone (Pepinillo Dulce) Physalis peruviana (Uvilla) Pouteria sapota (Mamey sapote) Fuschia boliviana Passiflora mixto (Taxo) Passiflora ?? (Sachataxo) Passiflora edulis (Maracuya) Passiflora ligularis (Granadilla) Passiflora quadrangulis (Granadilla Gigante) Ananas cosmosus (Pineapple) Bactris gaseapes (Chontaduro) Parajubea cocoides (Quito Palm) Selenocerus megalanthus (Yellow Pitahaya) Carica papaya (Papaya) Vasconcella pentangula (Babaco) Vasconcella spp (other Papaya relatives like the Mito) Annona cherimola (Chirimoya) Annona iforgetwhichone (Guayabana) Uva de Monte (no idea what the species is) Juglans neotropica (Andean black walnut) And the non-natives Musa x cavendish Musa spp (Oritos, Rosados, Sedas, Gros Michel) Monstera deliciosa Colocasia esculenta (Taro) Manihot esculenta (Yucca) Atrocarpus altilis (Breadfruit) Psidium guajava (Guava) Eritrobotium japonica (Loquat) Citrus spp (any number of oranges, lemons, etc.) there are probably more I'm missing; in the bush I can generally just look at a plant and know whether it's food or not.

07-21-2008, 09:50 PM	#6 (permalink)
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07-21-2008, 10:14 PM	#7 (permalink)
paradisi The news from Dicky Beach paradisi's Photo Gallery Location: Dicky Beach, Australia Find me on the map! Name: paradisi Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 107 BananaBucks : 93,055 Feedback: 0 / 0% Said "Thanks" 41 Times Was Thanked 82 Times in 37 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 0 Times	Re: wild food plants near you Lorax that's brilliant, what a list we've got a granadilla struggling over here - we have to hand pollinate - there's nothing here that has figured out the flower is worth going to to get pollen... excellent fruit though... __________________ The universe is my eyes and ears. All else is hearsay.

07-22-2008, 10:24 AM	#8 (permalink)
lorax Banned lorax's Photo Gallery Location: Ecuador, South America Find me on the map! Zone: USDA 13 / Köppen-Geiger BSh Name: Lorax Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 2,532 BananaBucks : 310,210 Feedback: 0 / 0% Said "Thanks" 742 Times Was Thanked 3,040 Times in 1,188 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 464 Times	Re: wild food plants near you Thanks, Paradisi. Here, the natural pollinator for Granadillas is a huge black carpenter bee, although they also seem to attract some of the larger brown scarab beetles. I actually realize that I missed a really important one - Avocadoes! They're everywhere, they're everywhere! And Poma Rosa (Szygium jambos) is almost invasive.

07-22-2008, 09:44 PM	#11 (permalink)
island cassie island cassie's Photo Gallery Location: Dominican Republic Find me on the map! Zone: 11+ I guess Name: Island Cassie Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 3,170 BananaBucks : 384,773 Feedback: 2 / 100% Said "Thanks" 1,708 Times Was Thanked 2,079 Times in 874 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 416 Times	Re: wild food plants near you Mostly seagrape and dominican almond with papaya, assorted bananas/plantains and chinola (passion fruit), noni (yuk!), lime - hard to tell which are native (not many I expect) and which are escapees, but these all grow widely in the scrub. Other fruiting trees that no-one seems to be able to identify. (note to self - must try harder to identify - so many fascinating plants - so little time!). People keep saying to me "what do you do all day - how do you fill your time?" and I don't know how to answer as there are not enough hours in the day. I guess that if you only like magazines and painting your nails - then life would be boring here - but if you like plants..... Cassie

07-23-2008, 11:30 AM	#12 (permalink)
lorax Banned lorax's Photo Gallery Location: Ecuador, South America Find me on the map! Zone: USDA 13 / Köppen-Geiger BSh Name: Lorax Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 2,532 BananaBucks : 310,210 Feedback: 0 / 0% Said "Thanks" 742 Times Was Thanked 3,040 Times in 1,188 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 464 Times	Re: wild food plants near you Oh, blackberries! Our own natives are considered an invasive species - they're absolutely everywhere!

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