Austral mulberry (Hedycarya angustifolia) – The fruit of this plant are not edible, but are used as a topical ointment for cuts and stings. The stems of the plant also make good fire drills and spear prongs due to their straight, hard nature.
Bracken (Pteridium esculentum) – Green shoots are commonly rubbed on insect bites, while the root, or rhizome, is a source of edible starch once cooked and separated from fibrous parts.
Cherry ballart (Exocarpus cupressiformis) – Found in sclerophyll forest, the foliage of this plant is toxic to stock but its fruit has a sweet, edible red stem. The sap is applied topically to treat snakebite.
Drooping sheoak (Allocasuarina verticillata) – Mature cones from this tree are ground up and applied to sores to treat rheumatism. Extracts from the bark and wood are also used as a general medicine.
Hemp bush (Gynatrix pulchella) – The bark of this shrub can be used to make a basic string, while the leaves are used as a poultice for boils and ulcers.
Old man saltbush (Atriplex nummularia) – The salty leaves are commonly cooked and eaten, but can also be applied topically as a medicine for cuts and stings.
Old man weed (Centipeda cunninghamii) – Commonly found along the Murray, as well as other low-lying, swampy habitats, this plant is considered efficacious for many complaints including eye infections, tuberculosis and skin complaints and is administered as an extract in water or sometimes rubbed onto the skin.
Punty bush (Senna artemisioides) – A dry-country species with many subspecies, the seeds of the punty bush are edible, while the leaves used for a medicinal wash
River mint (Mentha australis) – A native mint used as a medicine for coughs and colds, ingested in the form of a tea, it also makes for a flavouring herb for the lining of earth ovens.
Wattle (Acacia sp.) – The bark of wattles are ingested as a tea and used as a mild sedative for rheumatism or indigestion, but can also be used as a fish poison, most likely due to plant’s tannins. The gum of some species (golden, silver and black wattles) is edible, while other species have edible seeds.
