Aboriginal Plant Use P

This tree has been growing here, on what was Kaurna land, for more than 250 years -100 years before Europeans came to South Australia. On the eastern side, at the base of the trunk, is a dead wood hollow typical of these trees. Kaurna would sometimes burn the dead wood in the centre of big red gums trees to form a shelter. A good example of this can be seen on the trail at station 13.

Near the River Murray Ngarrindjeri people cut huge slabs of bark from river red gums to make canoes. The pattern of missing bark on the trunk of this tree is similar to the shape cut for canoes. The hard, durable wood was used for a range of utensils and weapons including digging sticks, carrying dishes, shields and boomerangs.

Many insects, birds and other animals that live in and around the tree were hunted. The scratches on the northern side of this tree are possum marks. Possums live in a hollow halfway up the trunk of the tree on the western side. Possums provided food as well as fur skins to make blankets and cloaks. On occasions introduced bees make their home in a small hollow above the possum home. Native bees were a source of honey and wax. Hollows also provided homes for birds like parrots, kookaburras and wood ducks, all of which could be hunted for food.

Many plants were used medicinally. Different types of crushed gum leaves provided relief from congestion and when laid on a fire the vapours were said to smoke out fever.

Look for: A large solitary gum tree in the lawn near a mulberry tree shelter.

Teaching hints: Encourage students to find animal homes and to think about the different types of ‘shops’ this tree was for the Kaurna and Ngarrindjeri people. 

This local plant is a source of sweet nectar in the Spring when the flowers are in bloom. Ngarrindjeri people used the shaft of the flower spike for lightweight spears and for fire sticks. Grass tree spears were made by attaching a pointed, hardwood end to the stem of the flowering spike. This sharp end was tied on using kangaroo sinews and a cement resin gathered from the trunk of grass-trees. Both the whitish base of the young leaves and roots of the plant were edible. In summer the seeds were ground to make flour for damper.

The stems of the flower sticks were joined to make rafts that allowed the Ngarrindjeri to collect duck and swan eggs from the deep water. In the Dreaming story Ngurunderi, Ngurunderi’s wives escaped across Lake Albert on a raft made from grass tree stems and reeds. Adelaide Botanic Garden Education Service

Look for: A mass of long, sharp, strap-like green leaves on the end of a short, thick trunk.

Teaching hints: If in flower look for birds and bees collecting nectar. Rub hands together to show how friction can generate heat for fire Warning: Be careful of the sharp edges of the leaves. 

Look for small holes in the lower trunk. This is where edible moth or beetle grubs have burrowed into the tree. Fresh sawdust coming out of these holes is a sign live grubs are inside. The grubs were often removed using a fine, flexible, sharp stick. Grubs found in tree trunks were called ‘barti’ and were considered men’s food only. Grubs dug from roots were called ‘koope’, they could be eaten by anyone in the group.

Look for: A very tall gum tree with ribbons of bark hanging from upper trunk. The lower trunk has a distinctive dark brown colour. The tree is growing near the edge of First Creek.

Teaching hints: Students can find the grub holes then work out what lives inside and how do you get them out. Discussion could be on the value of Aboriginal names which describe the animal and where it lives; food preferences; rules for eating of food in different cultures. 

Look for evidence (charcoal) that this old red gum has been burnt. It is likely that Kaurna people burnt the trunk as a basis for a shelter. The shelter would have been made more comfortable by blocking off openings exposed to the weather and lining the dirt floor with bark and animal skin rugs. A verandah, made of leaves, bark and branches, probably extended the size of the shelter. The tree shelters or ‘wattowadli’ were most often used in winter as family groups moved inland to escape the cold winds and flooded wetlands near the coast.

Aboriginal groups often moved through different parts of their land at different times of the year. This allowed the plants to regenerate and the animals to repopulate areas after they had moved on. Next time the group visited the area the land could support them again with food and materials. Seasonal movement also reduced health problems associated with a build up of human waste.

Look for: A large, hollow tree trunk on the left of the track.

Teaching hints: Get students to image a family group living in this spot many years ago. Image how it was enlarged and made comfortable to live in. Discuss in terms of sustainability, the value of moving through the land using temporary homes. 

The delicious macadamia nuts from this tree have one of the hardest shells in the world and are difficult to crack without mashing their contents. Aboriginal people in Queensland engineered special ‘nutting stones’ that consisted of slabs of tough rock with a number of depressions ground into them. Nuts, tightly held in the depressions, were expertly cracked with a blow from a hammer stone.

Mature macadamia trees can produce up to 25kg of nuts. Until recently this plant was the only Australian native plant to be used in horticulture as a food crop. Adelaide Botanic Garden Education Service

Look for: A medium sized tree on the right of track. It may have clusters of cream coloured flowers and/or bunches of green nuts.

Teaching hints: Discuss the design and value of stone tool technology. Find out if students have tasted Macadamia nuts, discuss flavour and recipes. 

Find and feel the shiny seed cases on this tree. In North Queensland Aboriginal hunters would use the very sticky pods of this plant to trap ground feeding rainforest birds. Placing the sticky parapara pods in a circle surrounding a tasty fruit lure caught the birds. The pods stuck to the birds as they crossed the circle of sticky pods making flight difficult and capture easy. Methods that reduced the energy hunters needed to use to catch prey were common throughout Australia.

Look for: A row of small trees with glossy green leaves. Shiny black fruits may be stuck on leaves

Teaching hints: Feel the sticky fruits. Encourage students to think about how the fruits could be used to trap birds. Get students to think about the importance of saving energy when hunting. 

In particularly bad dry spells in northern Australia this tree could save your life. The shape of the tree may give you a clue as to why! The bottle tree survives long periods of dryness by storing water in its trunk. Aboriginal people needing water would chop into the trunk and squeeze the soft, moist wood to obtain a drink. The wound was sealed with a stone thus making it easier to use again the next time the tree was visited.

The seeds, shoots and roots are edible and the trunk exudes a gum that is the source of starch. Scars formed by the dropping of limbs from the trunk make an attractive pattern on the trunk. The soft wood was used for fire-making and for shields.

Look for: A distinctive bottle shaped trunk with attractive horizontal scars.

Teaching hints: Students can tap the tree and guess about what might be inside. Discuss the advantage harvesting small amounts of water from the tree rather than getting a lot at once by cutting it down. 

Find some odd looking fruit on the tree. This is not a true fruit but is a small round cone attached to the tree’s swollen fleshy stalk. Aboriginal people in NSW ate both parts. The cone contains a small edible seed that has a strong resinous flavour .The soft, fleshy stalk has the colour and shape of a small plum when mature. The flesh has a pleasant tasting jelly-like texture. Today, the Illawarra plum is often featured in bush tucker or Australian plant food restaurants.

Look for: A large tree with long narrow deep green leaves. Purple plum shaped cones amongst the foliage (best time is May or June).

Teaching hints: Encourage students to spot the ‘plums’ on the tree or on the ground and to think about why this food could be called a ‘double header’.

This tree is one of a number of Australian plants that have toxic leaves and bark. The bark would be beaten and ground up then placed in water holes, lagoons or dammed streams. Fish in the water were stunned and easy to collect as they floated up to the surface. The fish only absorbed a small amount of toxin and were generally safe to eat soon after they were caught. In some cases, if left for a short time before eating, the toxins would breakdown naturally.

The poison in this tree is called saponin. It is abundant in the inner bark. Laboratory tests have shown that at concentrations of 1:1000  the saponin from this tree can causes fish to die in less than one hour.

Teaching hints: Compare all the equipment we use today when we fish with the minimal material used by Aboriginal people. Another chance to discuss the importance and advantages of using energy efficient methods when hunting

The Spear Lily grows in NSW. The large flower stalk was soaked prior to roasting and eating. The edible roots were crushed with rocks and then baked. The flowers attracted many nectar-feeding birds. Camouflaged hunters with nets would hide under the large leaves waiting to capture these birds for food. The leaves can be easily split into strips for weaving mats and baskets.

Look for: Long, spear shaped leaves. Long arching flower / fruit spike for part of the year.

Teaching hints: Draw attention to the ways leaves split into long strips and how they would hide bird hunters. 

The ripening of the massive Bunya pine cones signalled the time for many groups of Aboriginal people from south eastern Queensland to come together for a harvest festival. Sustained by a plentiful food supply, it was a time for social and cultural celebrations that included feasting, celebrations, sport, gossip, dance and music. To obtain fresh juicy young seeds these massive trees were scaled by women using vine ropes and notches cut into the bark of the tree. The size of the trees, and the very sharp leaves (feel them - carefully) would not have made the task an easy one.

Look for: A large tree with numerous thin branches radiating from the trunk all the way down to the ground. Parts of old cones with enclosed seeds may be on the ground.

Teaching hints: Discuss the problems of reaching the fresh, green cones which grow at the top of these trees. Focus on how the plants helped to set the social calendar. Do we have similar celebrations today based around plants (eg Wine Harvest and Almond Blossom festivals in South Australia)? 

The very strong, split fibres from the stems of this plant are excellent for plying string. The string is made by rolling strands of the plant fibre on the thigh. The tension imparted to the strands by this skilled rolling twists the fibres together at the end of the downward stroke; the ply is then consolidated on the backward movement. The string had a wide variety of uses including fishing lines, nets and body decorations. One of the most important uses was for making string or dilly bags that served as carry-alls.

Wood from casuarina is hard and ideal for making a number of implements including spears, clubs, clapping sticks, digging sticks and return boomerangs. A specialised fighting boomerang was made from the junction between the trunk and the root. It is worth noting that not all Aboriginal groups used boomerangs.

Look for small cones high up on the trees. These were soaked in drinking water to provide a lemon flavoured drink. The green needle-like branchlets were chewed to reduce thirst. Casuarina was a good wood for making fire.

Look for: A small forest composed of large trees and thin saplings growing near the edge of a creek.

Teaching hints: Encourage students to find parts of the trees that would provide boomerangs, spears, spear throwers, clubs and digging sticks.