The Flora page contains data and references to the vegetation within KooyongKoot and its catchment including relevant Ecological Vegetation Classes (EVCs), indigenous food/medicine plants (aka Bush Tucker), weeds and our indigenous plant nurseries.
How to find Flora for a Location
Using EVCs
The EVCs and NatureKit application described on our Ecology page provide a good way to locate appropriate plantings for a site.
One way to do this is to use NatureKit on-line as follows:
- Click on this link to open the main NatureKit page. Note the help and other documentation available – though you probably won’t need much for this procedure because we are merely scratching at the surface with this procedure.
- Click the Launch NatureKit button – a panel of options and a map should appear. Scroll and zoom to the area you want to look at. On a mobile device, you may have a Find Me button to make that process more efficient.
- In the Layers panel alongside the map, expand the Vegetation classification and click the 2005 and pre-1750 vegetation classes’ options. Pre-1750 EVC mapping is a model of the expected pre- European settlement vegetation types; 2005 approximates the present-day.
- Click on your property or park of interest. The details of the site should pop-up. Note the EVC number. Depending on location, you may see one or two pop-ups like this:
- Click on the Open benchmark assessment for EVCs in this Bioregion (PDF) link.
- Find your EVC number in the document that opens. There should be a couple of pages describing your EVC.
How to read the EVC benchmark assessment pages
The relevant pages in the PDF file provide a guide for what vegetation and other environmental characteristics are ideally expected at a site. The EVC provides “benchmarks” relating to canopy and understorey plant size, species, numbers and so on to help users assess their site against these benchmarks. From this information you may determine the overall quality of the site and begin to tailor a revegetation plan if necessary. These explanations may help in understanding:
- Description: Describes the EVC. If it is listed as “complex”, the landscape can have many changes in one area. You may need to look at surrounding EVC lists to determine the landscape description that fits your particular area.
- # / ha: This is the number of large trees per hectare – providing a guide as to the ideal number of large trees at your site.
- Tree Canopy Cover: These are the species you might find in the canopy layer (the uppermost layer of vegetation) at your site. These can be ideal tree species to plant at your site. This field will also tell you how much of the site you should cover with these species.
- % Cover of Life Forms: These are the proportions of different plant categories expected at the site. This section may be helpful if you are trying to decide on the proportion of trees, shrubs, grasses and so on to order for your understory.
- #SPP of Life Forms: This indicates how many species would belong to each life form at a high-quality site. The life form type ‘Immature Canopy Tree’ will always be blank since this information is given under the ‘Tree Canopy Cover’ section.
- Species typical of at least part of EVC range: These are some of the species that you can expect to find at a high-quality site. They are a good indication of which species you might order for your site. It is possible that you will find that some of these are already present. If so, persist with those and narrow your choice of additional species accordingly.
Other Resources
Other resources include:
- Consult the Flora of Melbourne book
- Check your local Council for hand-books and guides on indigenous plants.
- Visit our volunteer-run indigenous nurseries such as Greenlink and Bungalook. Both are KKA Members and have volunteers who are more than happy to answer your queries and provide assistance.
Bush Tucker Plants
The following is a list (no doubt incomplete) of various locally indigenous plants used traditionally for food. The base data has come from Bungalook Nursery’s list with additions from other sources. In particular, the Woiwurrung names IN CAPITALS used by the Wurundjeri in our area are derived from the guidebook: ABORIGINAL PLANTS in the grounds of Monash University (School of Biological Sciences, 2010). Note: We understand that the latter would have been based on the 1998 edition authored by Beth Gott (who passed away in 2022 aged 100). She was an academic at Monash and pioneer of researching aboriginal food plants – decades ahead of her time.
| Botanical Name | Woiwurrung & Common Names | Part of Plant | Usage | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — Tree gums and sap | ||||
| Acacia dealbata | MOY-YAN, Silver Wattle | Gum | Gum is edible – sucked like candy; soaked in water to make a jelly. | |
| Acacia mearnsii | GARRONG, Black Wattle | Gum | Gum used as a chewing gum that dissolves as you chew. | |
| Acacia pycnantha | Golden Wattle | Gum, seed | Roasted seeds and gum eaten. | |
| Allocasuarina littoralis | WAYETUCK, Black Sheoak | Gum, seed | The gum chewed or made into a jelly by melting in hot water. The young cones were eaten. | |
| Eucalyptus viminalis | WURUN, Manna Gum | Sap | Sugary sap eaten and flowers soaked in water to make a sweet drink. | |
| — Leaves | ||||
| Lomandra longifolia | KURAWAN, Spiny-headed Mat-rush | Leaf base | White leaf bases chewed to release starch. | |
| Mentha australis | PANARYLE, River Mint | Leaves | Leaves used to make tea and also to treat coughs and colds. | |
| Prostanthera lasianthos | CORANDERRK, Victorian Christmas-bush | Leaves | Aromatic leaves used to make tea or flavour food. | |
| Prostanthera melissifolia | Balm Mint-bush | Leaves | Aromatic leaves used to make tea or flavour food. | |
| — Berries, fruit, flowers | ||||
| Acrotriche serrulata | BURGIL BURGIL, Honey Pots | Flowers | The small flowers, underneath the plant, are full of a fragrant nectar. | |
| Billardiera mutabilis | GARAWANG, Common Apple Berry | Fruit | Fruit eaten raw when ripe or roasted when green. | |
| Cassytha melantha | Dodder Laurel | Fruit | Aromatic and tangy fruit look like small olives. | |
| Coprosma quadrifida | MORR, Prickly Currant-bush | Fruit | Berries are sweet and high in Vitamin C. | |
| Dianella admixta | Black-anther Flax-lily | Fruit | Dark blue or purple berries edible. | |
| Dianella laevis | Pale Flax-lily | Fruit | Dark blue or purple berries edible. | |
| Dianella tasmanica | Tasman Flax-lily | Fruit | Dark blue or purple berries edible. | |
| Einadia nutans | Nodding Saltbush | Fruit, leaves | Red berries are sweet to eat. Leaves can also be eaten but should be boiled first. | |
| Exocarpus cupressiformis | BALLEE, Cherry Ballart | Fruit | Small orange berries turn red when ripen to a sweet and palatable fruit. Green seed not eaten. | |
| Rubus parvifolius | EEPAEEP, Native raspberry | Fruit | Has edible small fruit somewhat like small raspberries but not as sweet. | |
| Solanum aviculare | Kangaroo Apple | Fruit | Has berries/fruit which are poisonous while green, only edible once fully ripe (orange). | |
| — Tubers/ roots | ||||
| Arthropodium milleflorum | Pale Vanilla Lily | Tuber, flowers | Tubers can be eaten raw or cooked. Flowers can be eaten raw. | |
| Arthropodium strictum | Chocolate Lily | Tuber | Tubers can be eaten raw or cooked. | |
| Bulbine bulbosa | PIKE, Bulbine Lily | Tuber | Tubers can be roasted and eaten, they are sweet tasting and contain calcium and iron. | |
| Burchardia umbellata | Milkmaids | Tuber | Tubers can be roasted and eaten. | |
| Clematis aristata | Austral Clematis, Old Man’s Beard | Taproot | Taproot can be roasted and eaten. | |
| Clematis microphylla | Small-leaved Clematis | Taproot | Taproot can be roasted and eaten. | |
| Geranium solanderi | Crane’s Bill, Native Carrot | Taproot | Woody taproot rich in starch can be cooked and eaten. | |
| Kennedia prostrata | KABIN, Running Postman | Nectar, stems | Nectar is sweet like honeysuckle, stems can be used for twine. | |
| Microseris walteri | MURNONG, Yam Daisy | Tuber | Tuber can be roasted or fried. | |
| Typha sp | BOURT-DEET, Cumbungi, Bulrush | Rhizome | Rhizome is rich in starch. Also the young flowering stems were eaten raw. | |
| — Seed | ||||
| Acacia melanoxylon | BURN-NA-LOOK, Blackwood | Seed | Seeds are edible and flowers can be cooked and eaten. | |
| Acacia pycnantha | Golden Wattle | Seed, gum | Roasted seeds and gum can be eaten. | |
| Linum marginale | Native Flax | Seed | Numerous small seeds eaten. | |
| Themeda triandra | Kangaroo Grass | Seed | Seeds can be ground to produce flour. |
Why not try growing your own ?
While we don’t suggest everyone would have the constitution and palate to enjoy bush foods, why not try growing some of your own? Where the plants in our list above are available from Bungalook, we link to Bungalook’s plant page through the hyperlink on the botanical name. Bungalook’s page offers further links to the authoritative VICFLORA and other sources of information on the species.
Greenlink and other indigenous plant nurseries would also stock many of these plants. Greenlink includes some others you might like to consider in its brochure bush food plants.
For further information, please download the “Indigenous Plant Use Guide” booklet by the Clean Air and Urban Landscapes Hub at the University of Melbourne – authored by Barkandji woman Zena Cumpston. It explores the cultural, nutritional, technological and medicinal use of indigenous plants in more detail.
Weeds
Weed have been variously defined as a “plant in the wrong place” and (Australian Weeds Strategy) a “plant that requires some form of action to reduce its harmful effects on the economy, the environment, human health and amenity”.
References on weeds:
- Most local Councils have weed lists and pamphlets listing weeds of concern in their municipalities.
- Book: Weeds of the South East