By Beatrice Hawkins
I’ve recently been given a beautiful book of native plant illustrations that was compiled by a group of very talented artists in the ACT. It is called ‘More than just a Pretty Plant – Celebrating the Uses of Australian Native Plants’. While many uses of the various plants illustrated are given, the book includes the disclaimer that unless you know how to prepare the plant, it is not wise to use it as some can be toxic and very dangerous.
The first one that I took note of was the grass tree as I knew the sap from these had many uses. It can be used as a glue, varnish, furniture polish, as a coating on brass instruments, perfumery and in soap making! During World War 11 many tins of food sent to troops in the Pacific areas were coated with varnish made from grass tree resin to prevent them from rusting.
A variety of Kurrajong that I haven’t seen called ‘Sticky Kurrajong’ or botanically ‘Brachychiton Viscidulus’ is the cover illustration. It is an orange-red flower, not at all like the regular Kurrajong dainty cream and red bell. The seeds can be eaten raw or roasted and make a bland coffee substitute. The young roots were eaten and the bark used to make string and rope.
One of the very many species of Acacia that we enjoy is the Australian Blackwood, Acacia Melanoxolyn, and I can vouch that this is a very beautiful furniture timber as my father made a number of pieces of very fine furniture from it during his retirement. My brother still has a lovely coffee table Dad made and I have some turned pieces. Apparently it has good acoustic properties and is used these days for stringed instruments. Aboriginal people used an infusion of its leaves for rheumatic joints and the seeds can be ground and eaten.
As a small child I used to pick the flowers from Hardenbergia Violacea. They used to come up very prolifically on the roadside after the grader had been along. They are obviously very hardy as they flourished in heavy clay soil and were first to reappear and flower after the roadside had been disturbed.
Some of the improved varieties that are now available in nurseries make a really lovely display, especially when they have purple and white flowers on the one climber. The flowers were used as a mouthwash and to treat infections by indigenous people.
The Pale Blue Flax Lily, Dianella Longifolia, is one of the few blue-berried native plants whose berries are edible. Usually blue berries are avoided by animals and birds. However these berries when ripe and a deep purple/blue are sweet and edible. The long flexible leaves were traditionally used for making baskets and matting.
One of the many native plants that has been commercially exploited, particularly in Western Australia, is Sandalwood, botanically, Santalum Spicatum. Many parts of this plant can be used for a variety of purposes. The fruit was eaten by Aboriginal people, leaves and bark applied medicinally and the leaves burnt as a mosquito repellent. In the early part of the last century the export of the wood was a major industry in WA, being exported to Asian countries for burning for religious purposes. This caused large areas to be decimated. These days plantation timber is chipped and the oil is distilled and used in the perfume industry. With the increase in the interest in native flavours the nuts are featured by contemporary chefs in pesto recipes and are also sold as a snack food.
And finally a bit of fun – the Kapok Bush of northern Australia is a calendar indicator. When the plant flowers it means that the crocodiles are laying their eggs, and when it is fruiting the eggs are ready to be collected! For many years Kapok was used as stuffing in mattresses and saddles. I can remember kapok mattresses and pillows from my childhood before the modern inner-spring – I really am showing my age!
The Gardening Extravaganza held in St Mary’s Hall during Jumpers and Jazz was a great success with many stallholders displaying an interesting range of plants and garden ornaments. Some spectacularly beautiful flower paintings were also on display by local artist ‘Missy Dicks’ – Michelle Fadjiga. It was good to see the support of local people for local businesses.
Of course the usual wonderful soups, Devonshire teas and sweet treats were in plentiful supply and enjoyed by the many people who attended. If you missed out, be sure to put it on the calendar for the Festival next year. Despite the extreme weather conditions and water restrictions that we have been experiencing the Garden Competition and Spring Flower Show will still take place in October. We can only hope and pray that we will have drought breaking rain in the next few weeks over a wide area.
*This is an old article that has been digitised so our readers have access to our full catalogue.
