Foraging Flora Down Under Trivia Quiz

Answer: Saline

Soil salinity in Australia has accumulated over thousands of years, possibly by the prevailing winds which have carried sea salt inland. Western Australia is the worst affected, causing land to become barren as not many plants and arable crop will survive.

The one plant that does thrive in these soil conditions is old man saltbush. It is a large, woody shrub which is used as grazing by cattle, and foraging by people to add a natural salt flavouring to food. The plant can be identified by its pale grey-green leaves.

Answer: Turkey rhubarb

This herbaceous weed grows wild in gardens, alongside roads, railway tracks, woodland and coastal areas of south eastern Australia, including Tasmania and the suburbs around Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne. It prefers moist and sandy soils to thrive well.

The plant can be identified by its arrow-like leaves, hence its Latin name, Acetosa sagittata, which roughly translates as "sorrel arrow". The leaves and fleshy stems can be eaten. The plant also has a small seed structure surrounded by a pinkish flower, resembling papery wings.

Answer: Riberry

Syzygium luehmannii can be used in the garden to define borders as an alternative to other hedging or topiary shrubs. In the wild, they prefer drought-tolerant soil in semi-shade or full sun, preferring a good drenching after rainfall especially in a tropical rainforest.

They are prevalent in Victoria, NSW and Queensland. The plant can be identified by their shiny green leaves and edible bunches of cherry-pink coloured berries that ripen between December and February.

Answer: Macadamia

Native to parts of eastern Australia, these trees are now grown commercially worldwide due to their popularity. Their common and more localised names include bush nut, mullimbimby nut, bauple nut, maroochi nut, boombera, gyndl, jindilli, or kindal kindal.

The evergreen tree can grow up to 12m high and has oblong leaves, with white or pink flower tassels that bloom during August or September. Macadamia nuts have the hardest shell of all nuts to crack, but once inside, the edible white kernel is worth waiting for!

Answer: Warrigal greens

Warrigal greens are very high in antioxidants, making them a healthy alternative to spinach, kale or broccoli. James Cook and crew ate skate with warrigal greens when they left Botany Bay in 1770 aboard HMS Endeavour, the leafy vegetables preventing scurvy on the voyage.

The low-density plants also have small four-angled fruit, often dried and then used for re-seeding. These are the reason for its Latin name Tetragonia which means tetra (four) and gonia (angle).

Answer: Bitter and acidic

Unlike other sweet and juicy plums, you need a cast iron stomach to eat Davidson's plum (Davidsonia) straight from the tree as it is bitter and acidic. They are worth eating though as they contain 100 times more vitamin C than oranges. The fruit are usually cooked with the addition of sweeteners to make jam or sauces.

A canopy of large ornamental leaves provide cover for the fruit as they appear in clusters on a slender tree trunk. The tree can grow approximately 9m tall.

Answer: Hot desert

Bush tomatoes (Solanum centrale) are also called kutjera, bush raisins or desert raisins. They belong in the same family as their better known cousins which are used to make savoury ketchup (katsup), but that is where the similarity ends. Bush tomatoes grow on desert plants with long thorn-like leaves, their yellow berries drying naturally under the hot sun to provide raisin-like fruit ready for picking.

They taste of caramel but with a slightly bitter aftertaste.

Answer: Quandong

Mycology is the study of fungi of which the edible mushrooms slippery Jack, saffron milk cap, and salmon gum bolete, are all part of. Carpology is the study of the structure of fruit and seeds. The native Australian fruit quandong (Santalum acuminatum) is the same size and shape as an apricot.

They grow on a small desert tree approximately 4m high. Quandong are hemiparasitic trees meaning that they grow next to another tree, using that tree's roots to supplement their own nutritional needs.

Answer: Wattle seed

Australia's natural emblem is the golden wattle (Acacia pycnantha). With a large variety to choose from, edible wattle seeds can be obtained from many of them, providing a wealth of nutrients including potassium, calcium, iron and zinc. This small tree can grow up to 8 metres high, with branches spreading out to 3.5 metres wide.

They have large fragrant flower heads, each containing up to 100 smaller bright yellow flowers. Once the flowers die off, seed pods are formed and it is these which are harvested.

Answer: Manuka myrtle

The honey from manuka myrtle is edible but it is the enzyme content which makes it so valuable as an antibacterial medicine. Prescribed medicinal manuka honey has successfully been used as a natural dressing applied to open wounds, including burn victims during the Gulf War, patients with venous ulcers and for killing hospital superbugs such as MRSA.

The manuka myrtle (Leptospermum scoparium), which is native to New Zealand and south east Australia, is a shrub-like tree which can grow up to 15 metres tall. With prickly evergreen leaves, it is the white or pink flowers that attract bees to forage for its pollen.