Notes on some of the roots, tubers, bulbs and fruits used by the Aboriginals of Northern Queensland

NOTES O~!SOXE OF THZ

ROOTS, TUBERS, BULBS, AND FRUITS, VS~DAS

G~T&DI~

FOOD

ET

of ~o~q~it

~

4 USTLILI4.

A. THOZET.

Any profit8 ari8ing from the eale of tide .Pamplàlet will 1e placed to the credit ofthe “Eoclchampton Museum Building Fund.”

PBIBTBD BY

ROCKHAMPTO~: W. H. Btiz~corr,“Buu~E’rxN”Orx’ICE, DE1nuM~SmzzT. 1866~

of the advantage of good public libraries, this catslogue, incomplete as it is, could not have been compiled without the assistance of the various popular works of the writer’s learned and indefatigable friend, Dr. FERDI~.ND MUELLEU, to whom the scientific and commercial world owe so many valuable discoveries.

DEi’ISIVED

N.B.-~--Torender the identification of the indigenous vegetable foods enumerated in the following catalogue easier, an illustration of every plant yielding them becomes necessary; but the date fixed for the exhibition of the specimens in Melbourne and Paris not permitting this, it is contemplated to do so at a future period.

As duplicates of these, as well as of various other specimens of natural products of Northern Queensland, have been prepared and kept, it is hoped a building may shortly be procured in Rockharnp. ton where they may form a nucleus for a Museum and be perma. ueutly exhibited.

CATALOGUE OP SOME OF THE ROOTS, TIJBERS, BULBS, AND FRUITS, USED AS VEG~ETABLEFOOD BY THE ABOItIGINALS OP NORTHERN QUEENSLAND, AUSTRALIA.

FoR the occasion of the forthcoming Exhibition, specimens of the various native foods have been carefully prepared. under the superintendence of the compiler of the following catalogue, WhO deems the present a good opportunity of drawing attention to them by a few remarks.

Our pioneer explorers and travellers, in passing through trackless paths previously untrodden by the foot of the white man, in their praiseworthy efforts in the cause of civilisation, often die of hunger although surrounded by abundance of natural vegetable food in the very spot where the aborigines easily find all the luxuries of their primitive method of life, and not a few unacquainted with the preparation which several of the deleterious plants require, lose their lives in venturing to use them. These martyrs to progress in a new unsettled country like Northern Queensland, should stimulate to further exertion those who either by taste or accident have become acquainted with the practical resources of our Flora.

The vegetable foods here referred to have been divided into three categories :— 1. Those used without any preparation.

2. Those which require baking only.

6

3. Those which, being poisonous, require to go through a process of maceration, pounding, and desiccation.

The first category includes roots and bulbs, which, like the native yam and water lily, are very plentiful, and available at any time. The fruits, though more numerous, do not offer advantages equal to the others, as thby mature only at certain seasons of the year.

The second category includes the root of a bean and the tubers of a rush, which are also plentiful, and easily obtainable.

The last category is the most important, as it furnishes an inexhaustible supply. These plants, with the exception of Entacict scanden8, besides being abundant, are of wide distribution over the Northern part of this Continent.

Should the publication of these particulars be instrumental in affording relief to the suffering, or in saving the lives of any lost in the trackless forests of the interior, the writer will feel amply rew~.r1ded.

It \

WITHOUT ANY PREPARAr1~N. BOOTS AND TUBERS.

1. lln3Iscus heterophyllus, Vent. Native Sorrel; aboriginal name, Batharn.

Found on banks of rivers and creeks, occasionally on plains. A rather tall shrub, part of the stem and young branches covered with small prickle~. Leaves entire or lobate.

Flower white and pink or yellow, with purple centre. (Roots of young plants, young shoots, and leaves eatable.)

7

2.

trichosiphon, Benth.

Bottle-tree; Ketey.

STERCULIA

Platan-leaved.

In scrub land. A tree of a beautiful pyramidal growth when young; becoming enlarged in the centre with old age.

(Roots of young plants eatable.)

3. STERCULIA rupestris, Binicey.

Benth.

Bottle tree; -

Generally found in stony scrub land, remarkable by its enlarged trunk, similar in shape to a lemonade bottle; some measure 6 to 8 feet in diameter. (Roots of the young plants eatable.)

The natives refresh themselves with the mucilaginous sweet substance afforded by this tree, as well as make nets of its fibre. They cut holes in its soft trunk, where the water lodges and rots them to its centre, thus forming so many artificial reservoirs. On their hunting excursions afterwards, when thirsty, they tap them one or two feet below the old cuts and procure an abundant supply.

4. Cissus opaca, F. Muell. Round yam; Yaloone (large), Wappoo Wappoo (small).

Found principally in elayey soil. Small creepers. Leaflets usually 3, 4, or 5, dark green and smooth. Berries, black and globular. Tubers very numerous, some weighing 5 to 1.0 pounds. Eaten inhot weather like water melons (the small and young are the best) ; they are, however, difficult to digest.

Probably the yam alluded to by Leichhardt, in his journal of an overland expedition, page 150. He says: “both tubers and berries had. the same pungent taste, but the former contained a watery juice, ‘~rhichwas most welcome to our parched mouths.”

5. Dioscoi~a punctata, Kowar.

IL Br.,

Long Yam.

A small rough, twining creeper. Loaves, heart-shaped and smooth. Flowers terminal. The cluster of the winged capsule, look, to an unacquainted observer, like the flowers of the common hop. (Small young tubers eatable.)

9. BELOCHAIUS sphacelata, R.Br., Rush.

Kayo.

Lagoons, creeks, and ponds. Small, almost spherical tubers, 6 to 12 in each plant.

STE~fS AND PLOWRR STALKS.

7. NYMPIL~A gigantea, Hook. Bluewater Liv. Yako Kalor, Rockh. tribe; Kaooroo, Clev~ land Bay tribe. .

Very abundant in all lagoons and ponds. (Flower stalks of the unexpanded flowers, after being broken and deprived of their fibrous part, are eatable).

8. XANTHOItRrnEA sp. Grass tree.

Kono.

Over ridges and mountain sides. (Small part of the extremities of the young shoots, and the white tender base of leaves, eatable.)

9. LIVISTONL& Australis, Martius. palm. Koncla.

Cabbage-tree

Found in valleys and gorges, 70 to 120 feet in height.

(White part of the undeveloped leaves eatable.) “Several of my companions suffered by eating too much of the cabbagepalm.”—Leiclihardt’s O.L. Expedition, page 72.

FRUITS.

10. MEL0DORUM Leiehhardtii, Beuth, P. MueL Merangara.

A small shrub, sometimes a strong tall creeper. Bark aromatic. Producing in the top of our scrub trees, an oblong or almost round fruit, with 1 or 2 seeds.

11. C~i~uusMitchelli, Lind. Wild Pomegranate.

Monclo.* In open plain. A small tree of a very crooked growth Bark longitudinally fissurated. Trunk and branches covered with short prickles, the branches nearly always drooning.

Flowers white. Fruit large oblong or spherical, 2 to 3 i~i.in diameter.

12. CAPPARIS canescens, Banks.

Mondoleu.t

Native thtte.

In scrub or open forest land. A creeper, ascending small shrubs or large treer, with stipulate booked prickles.

Leaves oblong. Flowers white. Fruit pyriform, ~in.diameter.

•emb1tngthat~rt~ a t Btmin~tlveof Mend,.

illualon to tim heel of a native; the froit, when ripe, ye.

.~ ~

13. CAPPARI5 nobilis, F. Muell. pomegranate. .l2arum.

Small native

A small scrub tree, with stipulate prickles on the branches.

Leaves oval oblong. Flowers white. Fruit globular, 1 to lfr in. in diameter, with a small protuberance at the end.

14. GitEwIA. polygama, Itoxb. Plain currant.

Karooni, Rockh. tribe. Cleveland Bay tribe, Ouraic.

A small shrub, found amongst grass. Large, alternate, ovate serrated leaves. Berries brown and smooth, 2 or 4 in an axillary peduncle. Leichhardt speaks of this small plant in his journal, page 205: “I found a great quantity of ripe Grewia seeds, and, on eating many of them it struck me that their slightly acidulatedtaste, if imparted to water, would make a very good drink; I thereforo gathered as many as I could, and boiled them for about an hour; the beverage which they produced was at nil events the best which we had tasted on our expedition, and my companions were busy the whole afternoon in gathering and boiling the seeds.” The same explorer states also, that a l’in8tar of the natives they obtained another good beverage by soakin~the blossoms of the tea tree (Melaleuca leucadendron), which were full of honey, in the water used for drinking~

15. OwENIA cerasifera, P. Much. .1?ancooran.

Sweet plum.

A beautiful scrub tree with erect trunk and pinnate glossy leaves. Eatable part, (earcoca7p) red.

16.

ItRAMNTJS

vitiensis, Benth.

Murtila~’n.

Scrub tree. Trunk and branches whitish. Leaves very smooth, shining, serrate, crenulate, and green on both sides.

Berries 1-inch diameter.

17.

ZIZ’YPHIJS

tree.

jujuba, Lam. Torres Straits jujube

The trunk and branches covered with prickles. Leaves ovate, rarely orbicular, green, smooth above, and white tomentoss underneath. Fruit ovoid, yellow when ripe, to i-inch diameter. ~-

18.

ros~efo1ius, Sm. Nerarn.

RUBUS

Found in creeks and valleys.

Native raspberry.

10

19. TERMINALIA oblongata, F. Muell. Yananoleu.

A large scrub or open forest tree, with branches spreading almost horizontally. Spikes a little longer than the leaves, with white yellowish flowers. Fruit purple, flattened and winged.

20. BARRINGTONIA. Careya, P. Much!. Broad-leaved apple tree. Barror.

A small tree in open forest, alluvial soil. Flowers and pink. Fruit like a middle-sized apple.

21. EUGENIA myrtifohia.

;~/

Bu~qanBu~ian.

A tree found in creeks. Rich bright foliage with abu~1it white blossoms. Fruit rose and red, pyriform and drooj~~.

22.

Cucrn~iissp. Native cucumber.

.Punzpin.

~

On rich alluvial soil and amongst grass. Fruit from I an inch to I of an inch in diameter and 1 to 1~inch in length.

The natives bite off one end, press the pulpy substance and seeds into theirmouths, and throw away the outer skin or rind, which is very bitter.

23.

Leiehhardtii, P. Muell. Leichhardt’s tree. To/ca, Rockh. tribe Taberol, Cleveland Bay tribe.

SARCOCEPIIALUS

Found on the banks of rivers and creeks. Stem erect. Leaves broad, oblong, deciduous.

Flowers globular and fragrant.

Fruit 1~to 2 inches diameter, usually spherical, but varyinc’ much in shape, very soft when ripe, pulp slightly bitter.

24. P0LYPURAGMON sericeum, Desf.

Kavor Kavor.

Commonly met with in the bed of creeks. Fruit I-inch in diameter, in shape not unlike the crab apple of Europe.

25. MABA sp.

Scrub box, or ebony, ~

A small tree, with dark scaly bark. Leaves ovate or obovate, slmost sessile. Fruit small egg-shaped, orange red when ripe.

26. ACURAS sp.

~

Balearn.

A tall straight scrub tree. Bark, thin, grey yellowish.

Leaves obovateobtuse. Fruit asbig asa middle.sized plumS with four or five smooth, shining, flattened seeds.

/~

/,~

27. CARIssA ovata, R.Br. ~ ative scrub lime; Karey, Rockh. tribe; Tilorin, Clev. Bay tribe.

Asmall pricklyshrub. Flowers white, fragrant. Fruit I-inch diameter, egg.shaped.

28. MY0POItUM cliffusu.m, R.Br.

Arnulla.

Among grass. A diffuse, almost prostrate, small herbaceous plant. Leaves alternate dentate at their base, lanceolate acute.

Fruit ~ of an inch diameter, on an axillary solitary peduncle, white and pink when ripe, slightly bitter.

latifolius, R.Br. Oringorin.

29. ExocAnPus

Native cherry;

A small scrub tree. Bark almost black, scaly. Leaves thick, dark green. Fruit, red when ripe.

30. Ficus aspera, R.Br. Rough Jeaved fig-tree; .Nbomaie, Roekh~.tribe. Balerno, Clevel.

Bay tribe.

Very common in scrubs and plains. Fruit black when ripe.

31.

Pious vesca, F. Muell. fig-tree, .Parpa.

Leichhardt’s clustered

A good sized tree, found in scrub, also on the banks of

rivers and creeks. Loaves ovate, lanceolato, acute dark smooth,

green above, and pale green underneath. The fruit, which is of a

light red colour when ripe, hangs in clusters along the trunk, and on some of the largest branches.

32. PIPTURUS propinquus, Wed. berry. Kongangu.

Native Mul-

Found in creeks. A soft shrub, almost herbaceous. Leaves broadly ovate serrate, acuminate, tomentose, and white underneath. Fruit white, transparent.

33.

Brownii, F. Much. Native Banana.

Morgogaba, Cleveland Bay Tribe.

MUSA

34. PANDANUS sp. Screw Pine. Kaor.

The eatable part is the side of the seeds adhering to the rachis.

12 5Z~D5.

35. ~ Lily.

speciosum, Wifld. Pink Water Aquaie.

A splendid aquatic plant. The stalk of the leaves erect; the latter peltate slightly concave, one to two feetdiameter.

Flowers pink, five to eight-inch diameter. Seeds, 20 to 35; more than three-quarters imbedded in a large flat-topped torus.

(2biB) STEP.CULL&

trichosiphon.

(3bi8) STERCULIA rupestris.

36. STERCULL& quadrifida, H. Br.

Convavola.

In shrubs and creeks. Leaves, ovate or cordate. The pod, which contains three to six black ovoid seeds, is of a bright crimson colour when ripe.

(7bi~) NYMPH~Agigantea. _____

WITH

/“~,••

PREPAItATI~N. —

BAKED ONLY. —

~ ~

/‘~

hOOTS.

37. PRASEOLIJS Mungo, Linn.

Komin, Rockh. tribe.

Kadolo, Cleveland round slightly twining among grass. Bay Stemsrrribe. and branches, hairy. Leaflets 3, narrow, 3 to 4 inches long, acute. Flowers, pale yellow. Pod cylindrical, 2 to 4 inches long. :aoots the shape of small long carrots.

38. ACACIA Bid.willi, Benth.

Wanen.

Bidwill’s Acacia.

Found usually in stony ridges. A small tree, prickly when young. Small leaflet 15 to 25 pairs, Ith inch long. (Roots of

the young plants eatable.)

(5bi8) DIosconEA punctata.

Large old roots.

13 BULBs, TUBERS, A~DSTEMS.

(71cr) NYMPIIL~Agigantea.

The tubers.

39. APON0GETON sp.

Warrum~bel,Rockh. tribe.

Koornabaie, Uleveland Bay tribe.

Found in shallow water in lagoons or ponds. A small aquatic plant. Leaves oblong, lying on thesurfaceof the water. Rachis erect. Flowers numerous, small, and yellow. Bulbs spherical, ~in. to un. diameter.

40. DENDROBIUM canaliculatum, ]LLBr.

Yarn berm.

Very abundant on the decayed trunks and branches, principally of gum tree. (The bulbous stems, after being deprived of the old leaves, are eatable.)

(6biB) HELOCIIARIS sphacelata.

The small tubers, baked, are roughly pounded between atones, and made in the same shape as almond cake.

two

POD.

(36bi8)

STERCULIA

quadrifida.

The mucilaginous substance of the unripe pod eatable. rnuxrs.

41. AvICENNIA tomentosa, It. Br., Mangrove; Egaie (Clev. B. tribe); Tagon Taรงjon. (Rockh. tr.)

A small tree, but sometimes attaining 18 inches in dia-

meter; generally found on the estuaries of rivers and creeks.

Small numerous roots protrude at the base of the crooked trunks. Leaves pale, green above, and white

tornentoso underneath.

Fruit heart-shaped with two thick cotiledons: The aboriginals of Cleveland Bay

dig a hole in the ground, where they light a good fire; when well ignited they throw stones over it, which, when sufficiently heated, they arrange horizontally at the bottom, and lay on the top the Egaie fruit, sprinkling a little

water over it; they cover it with bark, and over the whole earth is placed, to prevent the steam from evaporating too freely.

During the time required for baking, (about two hours,) they dig another hole in the sand, the softened Egaie

14 is put into it, they pour water twice over it, and the .21(1. cfamo is now fit for eating. They resort to that sort of food during the ~vet season when precluded from searching for any other. (Murrells’ testimony.*) Near Mount Elliot and Cleveland Bay, there is also an eatable root, Wangoora, probably a species of Ipotruna: The roots, very bitter, are cut in two, put into water for one hour or one hour and a.half and are afterwards baked for 3 or 4 hours, in the same way as the Egaie; they then carry it in a dilly bag (Yelli l~arda)to the water’s edge, where, by pouring water over and pressing it, they make the starch fall upon the bark in the same way as arrowroot falls from the cylinder into the trough; they wash it three or four times until the water is very clear, and the yellow focula is then fit for use. (Murrells’ testimony.)

This plant may be the same as the one alluded to by Leichbardt, page 284. “I tried several~methodsto render the potatoes which we had found in the camps of the natives eatable, but neither roasting nor boiling, destroyedtheir sickening bitterness; at last, I pounded and washed them, and procured the starch, which was entirely tasteless, but thickened rapidly in hot water like arrowroot, and was very agreeable to eat, wanting only the addition of sugar to make it delicious—at least, so we fancied.

(POISONOUS IN A RA~~STAT9 P0 uNDrNGDEsIcoA;co~if~*~

42.

O~u~ADIuM machrorhizon,

Vent. Hakkin~, Itockh. tribe. Banganga or lQargan, 01ev.

B. tribe.

•Found moist, shady leaves. places. A strong with veryin large sagittate The youngherbaeeons bulbs, of aplant, light rose colour inside, found growing on large old rhizornes, are scraped, and divided in two parts, and put underthe ashes for about half an hour.

When sufficiently baked, they are then

p~undedby hard strokes between two stones—a large one, Wailarie, and a small one, Kondola. All the pieces which do not look farinaeeoue, but watery when broken, are thrown

The late Jame, Murrefl,, was a wrecked cailor, wbo lived il years amongst one of the Cleveland Bay tribes, In Northern Queensland, ~.uatraI1~.

15 away; the others, by strokes of the Kondola, are united by twos or threes, and put into the fire again; they are then taken out and pounded together in the form of a cake, which is again returned to the fire and carefully turned occasionally: this operation is repeated eight or ten times, and when the hale/cm, which is now of a green greyish colour, begins to harden, it is fit for use.

43. TYPHONIUM Brownii, Scott.

Jiferrin.

A small herbacious plant; found in sandy, shady places.

Leaves sagittate entire or three lobate. Flowers purple, dark, of a disagr~eabloodour. The tubers, which are yellow inside, arc manipulated in the same way as the Ralelcin, but none are watery, and they are made to adhere together after the first roasting.

POtTNDL.VG, MACE1~4TI0ZsT,DESICO4T10N~

44. ENTADA scandens, Benth. land. Bay Tribe.)

Barbacldah, (Cleve-

A strong climber. Pod 2 to 4 feet in length, and 3 to 4 inches in breadth. The seeds 1~to 2 inches diameter, are put in the stove ‘oven and heated in the same way and for the same time as”t,he .Egaie; they are then pounded fine and put into a dilly-bag and left for ten or twelve hours in water, when they are fit f&ruse, (Murrells’ testimony.)

45. CYCAS media, it.Br.

Nut palm; Baven.

A graceful tree, with a crown of fruit the size of a wal.

nut, yellow when ripe; very common on the mountain sides and in valleys. The nuts are deprived of their outer succulent cover (rarcoca~p),and are then broken; and the kernels having been roughly pounded, arc dried three or four hours by the sun, then brought in a dilly-bag to the water strea’n or pond, where they remain, in running water four or five days,andin stagnant watcrthree or four days. By a touch of the fingers the proper degree of softness produced by maceration is ascertained. They are afterwards placed between the two stones mentioned, reduced to a fine paste, and then baked under the ashes in the same way that our bush people bake their damper.

16 POUYDING, MA UERATrON.

46. ENCEPRALAP.TOS Miquelii, P. Much.

Zamia; Banga.

Dwarf

Found generally in the same locality as the palm nut, with a large cone fruit not unlike a pine-apple. The seeds, orange i-ed when ripe, and separating freely, are baked for about half-an.hour under ashes; the outside covers and the stones arc then broken, and the kernels divided by a stroke of the Kondola, are put into a dilly-bag and carried to a stream or pond, where they remain six or eight days before they are fit fur eating.

47.

ENCEPUA.LARTOS

sp.

Leichthardt’s abo~esçent

Zamia.

Prepared in the same way as L. Miquelu.

‘~

‘‘-I—,,

/

~

/~/

ADDENDA. -4-

rl.~1IEfollowing

plants yielding food, not occurring in

the vicinity of Rockhampton, (except those in Italics,) any contribution of specimens and remarks on them, or any others omitted or recently discovered, will be thankfully received..

I. nujIrs.

UVAIUA heteropetala.

Flora Australiensis, Bentham and Mueller, Vol. I. p. 51.

NITRAIIIA Schoberi.

ATALANTIA. glauca.

Flora Australiensjs, Vol. I. p. 370.

CITILus Australis.

Flora Austrailcusis, Vol. 1. p. 371.

ANACAItDIUM sp. Carpentaria Gulf tribe, Lugulla.

Leichhardt’s Overland Expedition, p. 533.

I’A.RINAjtrlml Nonda.

Leichhardt’s Overland Expedition, p. 315; Flora Australiensis, Vol. II. p. 420.

Rul)fl8 moluccanus.

1~ubusparv~folius.

18 ACMEN&

sp.

Leichhardt’s Overland Expedition, p. 482.

EUGENIA Tierneyana.

Phragmenta Phytographke, F. Mueller, Vol. V. p. 1-1.

EUGENIA sp.

Loichhardt’s Overland Expedition, p. 487.

EuG1~N1Asp. Leicllhardt’s Overland Expedition, p.

/~

~‘

504.

JlIjp’ usaemeno ides.

~\

Pbragmeota Phytographia~,Vol. I. p. 77.

‘~.

~

Native Melon.

Leichhardt’s Overland Expedition, p. 325.

pnncox.

JJleseinbrycentltemuin a~quilalerale.

GARDENIA cd.u.lis. Little Breach Fruit of the Lynd.

MESE3IBItYANTIIE3IUM

Leichhardt’s Overland Expedition, p. 27:3 ; Phi’agmenta Phytographue, Vol. I. p. 52.

,Svanlbucus Gaudichaucliana.

S~inucusxantliocarpa.

MIMusors Kauki.

11. Br. Prod. i• 100.

Physalis parv~iora.

SANTALiJM Preissianum.

Santahi.

CONIOGETON arborescens.

Q uan clang,

and others

Little Gooseherry Tree.

Leichhardt’s Overland Expedition, p. 170.

19

II. ROOTS LND IWLIIS.

2~!J1npit ~a stellata.

CON VOLVULUS sp.

Carpentaria Gulf tribes, Iiit1~erlii..

Leichhardt’s Overland Expedition, p. 522.

3larsdenia viridjflora.

TACCA pinnatifid.a.

Typha Shuitlewortitil.

STAL~5AI~DLEfl’ES.

.N~jmpitwastellata.

J?or ulaca oleracea, l’urslane.

Tetragonict ea~’pansa. Spinage.

Sonchus sp.

Sow-thistle.

Leichhardt’s Overland Expedition, i• 40.

CIIENOPODIUM auricomum.

Fat lIen.

Leiehhardt’s Overland Expedition, p. ‘10.

Commelyna cyanea.

PANDANUS aquaticus.

PANDANUS pedunculatus.

POD.

C’anavallia obtusjfolia.

Young pod eatable.

20 SEEDS.

2~ynip1zccastellaict.

Portulaca oleracea. l’ANICUM decompositum. iJ,Tarsilea quathjfolia. “.N III. SEEDS.

Cana~alliaoltus~folia.

CAsTANosrER~IimIAustrale.

ilTacnnc& gigantea (?~) Large vine bean, with green blossoms.

Leichhurdt’s Over-

land Expedition, p: 451.

James Murrells, during his stay in Rockliampton, pointed. out the undermentioned roots or bulbs, as furnishing good food to the blacks of Mount Elliot :— KA.N0UL.* Grown on the mountains amongst grass; rather sticky when cooked.

KANANE.*

BOAN.* On banks of rivers and creeks; small thick leaves.

MALBOUN.* Found at the foot of’ mountains, in scrub; very good eating.

MOGONDAL.~ Grown on the top of the mountains, in red clay soilS white, sweet, and dry; the best of all the roots in use there. *

Native name.