The rare fruits section in the Bundaberg Botanic Gardens is a very interesting place to visit at the moment. Every fruit is edible! The orange fruits of the Imbe tree (Garcinia livingstonia) are bearing well. They taste a bit like apricots. This tree is native to East Africa. You won’t see it in a supermarket as the skin is too thin and delicate.
The Giant Lau Lau (Eugenia megacarpum) has many large red fruits. One of them was 15cm long and could barely fit in my hand. The fruit is white and smells like a rose. The Panama berry (Muntingia calabura) is producing hundreds of pink fruit. They taste like fairy floss. The birds like them as well, so you have to be quick. Two mulberry trees have been netted to prevent the tasty fruit from being eaten by birds or flying foxes. One is a variety favoured by Ray Johnson of the Rare Fruit club. The flavour is intense. Bundaberg is very fortunate to have a dedicated group of volunteers who love rare or unusual fruit and are prepared to grow them for the public to enjoy.
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Trevor Galletly, A member of the “Friends” group recently found some fungi in mulch on the edge of a garden bed in the Bundaberg Botanic Gardens. He photographed it and sent the photo to Fungimap - Australia's national non-profit fungi organisation. It was identified by mycologist Dr Tom May as Chlorophyllum molybdites. Common names are false parasol or green-spored parasol. The sighting was entered into their database.
Trevor noted that the fungi appeared after storm rain for several days and maximum temperatures of 26 – 28 degrees. Although it looks like an attractive, edible mushroom, the species is highly poisonous and produces severe gastrointestinal symptoms of vomiting and diarrhea. Contact details for Fungimap Inc are: [email protected] www.fungimap.org.au Ph 03 92522374. Their fungi identification service is provided free of charge, but donations are welcome to support integral research, education and conservation work. |
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Some highlights of the Gardens Archives
February 2021
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Friends of Bundaberg Botanic Gardens