Aboriginal food and medicinal plants in Victoria

All native plants in Victoria are protected. Somearenowknown to be carcinogenic. Aboriginal people had a detailed and thorough knowledge of their environment, including the many plants available across Victoria. These plants could be used for food, medicines, utensils and tools, bags and clothing. The ecology was greatly disrupted by the arrival of European settlers. However, although some signicant plants were lost, most are still growing inVictoria and are used in their traditional ways. This pamphlet focuses on the plants that were used to maintain a healthy life, includingboth staple foods and those used for healing.

Murnong (Yam Daisy)

Murnong (Wurundjeri) Muurang, Keerang (Gunditjmara) Punyin (Tjapwurong) Microseris lanceolata Open forest and grassland

Old man weed

Gukwonderuk (LakeHindmarsh)

River mint
Poang gurk (Tjapwurong) Panaryle (Wurundjeri)

Centipeda cunninghamii Creeks and ood plains

Mentha australis Creeks and ood plains

Of all the plants we talk about in our lifetime this was the most important. Although old man weed was the best known, this little plant was by far the most important as far as Aboriginal people were concerned. They didnt need any thing else to survive because as long as this one was close they didnt starve. If the men couldnt get any meat when they went hunting, they relied on the Murnong for food. The yam daisy produced little tubers under the ground. When cooked in an oven they produce a sweet syrup andare beautiful toeat Murnong was once widespread across Victoria, particularly on the open plains, but is now rare. The tubers could be dug up easily and eaten raw or cooked.

This is a renowned Aboriginal medicine and I dont know of any Aboriginal person who has not heard of this one. It is even better known than one of themost important plants Murnong. Old man weed was used for just about everything that made you sick, particularly colds and chest complaints. The leaves were boiled into a decoction. It grows mainly where there is a lot of moisture and plenty of water, such as creek banks and ood plains. It does not grow well in the winter months.

The little bush was certainly used as a drink as it was immersed inwater overnight and this made adeliciousdrink. The leaves were also used for medicines, crushed and inhaled for coughs and colds. They were also used to add avour to cooked meats.

Tree ferns
Poo-eet (Wurundjeri) Kurok Mukkine (Gunditjmara) Wonon Tulong (Tjapwurong) Kum ba da (Melbourne) Kombadik (Coranderrk) Dicksonia antarctica Cyathea australis Rainforest

Bracken fern
Moolaa (Tjapwurong) Murkine (Gunditjmara) Geewan (Gippsland)

Cherry ballart
Palatt/ballot (Lake Condah)

Pteridium esculentum

Exocarpus cupressiformis

Open forest

All Victoria

Soft tree fern is the tree-fern that is most often grown in Victorian gardens. The top half of the trunk was split down the middle and a starchy substance was scooped out for food and it was eaten raw or cooked. The Aboriginal people knew that by splitting the top half of the trunk the tree would not die. It was known to some Aboriginal clans as Kurok Mukkine, grandmother ofallferns. Tree ferns are now known to becarcinogenic when consumed over time.

Because bracken infests cleared areas which were formerly forest, it was once mistakenly believed to be an introduced plant. White farmers did not like it because it made their cattle sick if they chewed on it. The Aboriginal people used this plant for both medicine and food. The underground stems are known as rhizomes and unlike other roots they grow parallel to the ground. They contain a starchy substance that was eaten and if no other foods were available, bracken was able to sustain Aboriginal people. The leaves of the bracken fern are hard to the touch andare not eaten. Bracken was a very good pain reliever for insect bites and the irritation of mosquito bites. The new fronds that look like little question marks were not eaten as they made yousick. Bracken fern is now known to becarcinogenic when consumed over time.

This little tree is a favourite all over Victoria. Aboriginal people used the plant for food and medicines. It was used also for making spear throwers and bullroarers. The plant is a parasite and gets its start in life from other plants. It looks like a cypress type tree. The tree produces a sap like substance which was known to be used for snake bites, so like most of the plants the Aboriginals used it had multiple uses.

Hop Bush
Kuungurrun (Wurundjeri)

Grass trees
Bukkup (Gunditjmara) Baggup (Wurundjeri) Kawee (Tjapwurong) Xanthorrhoea australis Arid areas and open forest

Pig face
Cutwort (Gippsland) Puuyuupkil (Gunditjmara)

Dodonea viscosa Arid areas

Carpobrotus rossii Coastal and inland dunes

The roots of this plant were used for medicines. It was very useful for healing all sores, cuts and stings, and was also known to ease the pain of toothache.

What a wonderfully useful plant this one is, growing all over Australia except for the harsher, dryer desert regions. As the plant ages it develops a trunk. When young it produces succulent roots, which if not taken early will dry out in the summermonths. A hard waterproof resin is produced from the base of the leaves, which melts when warmed. Aboriginal people used this glue-like substance for their spear heads and their stone axes. It will also produce a shaft or spear up the middle of the plant. Aboriginal people found this shaft very useful for re making procedures.

This low-growing plant grows on sand dunes and cliffs along the eastern coast of Victoria, and was very useful to the Aboriginal people. The red fruit ripens in the summer months and was a useful thirst quencher during the hot summer days. The salty green leaves were often eaten with meat because they acted as avouring. The juice from the leaves was used to relieve pain from insect bites. Early European explorers also used pigface as an anti-scurvy treatment.

Coastal banksia
War rak (Wurundjeri)

Blackwood
Mootchung (Tjapwurong) Mootch-ong (Jardwadjali) Burn na look (Wurundjeri) Acacia melanoxylon Southern Victoria

Blue gum

Banksia integrifolia East coast

Eucalyptus globulus Southern Victoria

The cones of the Banksia were soaked in water and sweet drinks were made from the nectar. The cones were great for re and when lit they would stay burning for hours. When Aboriginal people were moving camp they would carry these cones for miles and therefore didnt have to start their res using re sticks. This particular tree was one that the possums liked very much and when the Aboriginal people wanted to nd their possums they would always head forthe beautiful Banksia trees.

The inner bark of this wattle was used to make a coarse string and was heated to apply as a medicine forrheumatism. Aboriginal people used the wood for spear-throwers and shields. Thesap that would leak from the trunks of many of the wattle trees was also used as a food.

There are many millions of eucalypt trees in this country, providing millions of resources for the Aboriginal people. Most of the eucalypt trees were a supermarket and pharmacy within themselves, providing grubs from theroots and sugar and medicines from the leaves. The trunks provided shelter and fuel for warmth, and they also provided tools for everyday use. Leaves of the blue gum are most frequently used for eucalyptus oil.

Disclaimer: The Department of Health does not promote the use of these medicinal plants without medical advice. Author: Trevor Gallagher in collaboration with Mary Sullivan. References: Tim Low, Wild food plants of Australia. Angus and Robertson, Sydney, rev edn 1991. Nelly Zola and Beth Gott, Koorie plants Koorie people: Traditional Aboriginal food, bre and healing plants of Victoria. Koorie Heritage Trust, Melbourne, 1992. Australian National Botanic Gardens. Growing Native Plants. http://www.anbg.gov.au/gnp Beth Gott, Indigenous use of plants in south eastern Australia: paper from the Australian Systematic Botany Society Conference, Darwin, September 2007, inTelopea 12 (2) pp 215226. Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust, 2008. Monash University School of Biological Sciences, Aboriginal plants in the grounds of Monash University: a guide. Monash University, Melbourne, 2010. Greenlink Box Hill, Inc, Aboriginal uses of local plants. https://sites.google.com/site/greenlinkboxhill Photos: Wild food plants of Australia: Pigface, cherry ballart, coastal banksia, murnong, bracken, tree fern, grass tree. Koorie plants Koorie people: river mint, old man weed, blackwood. Australian native plants society (Australia): blue gum, photo by Bruce Champion; hop bush, photo by Brian Walters. http://anpsa.org.au To receive this document in an accessible format phone Aboriginal Health Branch, Department of Health on 9096 7938. Authorised and published by the Victorian Government, 50 Lonsdale St, Melbourne. Department of Health, May 2012 (1204012) Print managed by Finsbury Green.