Terminalia ferdinandiana

Last updated

Terminalia ferdinandiana
Terminalia ferdinandiana 63993370.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Myrtales
Family: Combretaceae
Genus: Terminalia
Species:
T. ferdinandiana
Binomial name
Terminalia ferdinandiana
Synonyms [2] [3]
  • Terminalia edulisF.Muell.
  • Terminalia latipes subsp. psilocarpaPedley

Terminalia ferdinandiana, most commonly known as the Kakadu plum and also called the gubinge, billygoat plum, green plum, salty plum, murunga, mador and other names, is a flowering plant in the family Combretaceae, native to Australia, widespread throughout the tropical woodlands from north-western Australia to eastern Arnhem Land. Used as a traditional bush food and bush medicine for centuries, the fruit has especially high levels of vitamin C.

Contents

Description

Terminalia ferdinandiana is a slender, small to medium-sized tree growing up to 14 m (46 ft) in height, [4] [5] [6] with creamy-grey, flaky bark and deciduous pale green leaves. The flowers are small, creamy-white, perfumed, [5] and borne along spikes in the leaf axils towards the ends of the branches.[ citation needed ] Flowering is from September to December or February (Southern hemisphere spring/summer). [4] The leaf blades are strongly discolorous with a broadly elliptic to broadly ovate, occasionally obovate shape and are 11 to 33 centimetres (4.3 to 13.0 in) in length with a width of 8.5 to 23 centimetres (3.3 to 9.1 in) and have a rounded apex. The inflorescences are 16 to 19 centimetres (6.3 to 7.5 in) long and are glabrous throughout.[ citation needed ]

The fruit is yellow-green, about 2 cm (0.79 in) long and 1 cm (0.39 in) in diameter, almond-sized with a short beak at the tip, and contain one large seed. They ripen from March onwards,[ citation needed ] with the ripe fruits being very pale, sometimes pinkish. [4]

The species epithet "ferdinandiana" was created by A.W. Exell in honour of the first European botanist to collect and describe Kakadu plum, Ferdinand Mueller, who had originally given the species the nomen illegitimum (illegitimate name), Terminalia edulis. [7]

Range and habitat

The tree is widespread throughout the tropical woodlands from northwestern Australia to eastern Arnhem Land. [8] It is found along the coast in the Kimberley region of Western Australia as far west as Broome extending east into the Northern Territory where it is found mostly in the western portion of the top end from the Western Australian border to Arnhem Land but is found as far east as Limmen National Park. [4] [9]

It grows in a variety of habitat including sandplains, floodplains, creek beds, ridges, among vine thickets and on the edges of areas of mangroves. It grows in sandy, peaty or clay soils around sandstone or ironstone, [4] and is often found as part of eucalypt communities. [9]

Ecology

The Kakadu plum provides food for important small mammals such as possums, rock rats, tree rats, and bandicoots. Since demand has increased for the fruit for human consumption, careful management is necessary to ensure its sustainability. [10] [11]

Uses

Traditional uses

The fruit has been used as bush tucker or traditional medicine by Aboriginal Australian people over centuries. [12] [13] [14] [15] [16]

The tree is particularly valued as a medicine by the Aboriginal peoples of the region, who use the inside of the bark for treating various skin ailments and infections. Fungal infections such as ringworm and bacterial infections (including leprosy) are other targets of treatment. [5]

Nutritional value

The Kakadu plum has a high concentration of vitamin C in its fruit: recorded concentrations of 2300–3150 mg/100 g wet weight [8] and occasionally as high as 5300 mg/100 g, [17] compared with 50 mg/100 g for oranges, making it among the highest known of any natural source. [5] [11] It also contains a high oxalic acid content that may have toxicity when consumed. [16]

Taste and modern uses

Kakadu plums taste "somewhat bland, but with a definite sour and astringent finish", [10] sometimes salty. [5] Its taste makes it suitable for making into jam, sauces and relishes. [10]

Based on studies done by University of Queensland Centre for Nutrition and Food Sciences researchers over a decade, [18] the fruit has been used as a preservative to maintain the freshness of prawns [19] and frozen foods. [18] [20]

Because of its potential for varied uses as a food, cosmetic ingredient or preservative, there has been a need to manage its growth in the wild, and in addition, efforts have been made to involve Indigenous groups in the growing industry. [10] The Northern Territory Government has created a five-year (2019–2023) management plan "to ensure wild populations of this native plant and its habitat are adequately maintained across the Northern Territory well into the future". [11]

As of 2021, 50 kg (110 lb) powder, created by a processing plant in Queensland, sells for A$500 per kilogram wholesale, and 50 kg of fruit is needed to create a single kilogram of the powder. [21]

In Aboriginal languages

Northern Territory

In Kundjeyhmi, the language of Kakadu National Park where the English name "kakadu plum" originates, the fruit and tree are called anmarlak. In the closely related Kunwinjku language of West Arnhem Land, the word is manmorlak, or mandjiribidj in the Kuninjku dialect. [22] In Yolŋu it is called ŋäṉ'ka-bakarra. [23] The name murunga comes from an eastern Arnhem language. [24]

Western Australia

In the languages of the Kimberley, Western Australia, the tree is known as gubinge (from the Bardi language [24] ) mardorr, yuminyarri and jambalbeng. [21]

Related Research Articles

In Australian Aboriginal mythology, Mamaragan or Namarrkon is a lightning Ancestral Being who speaks with thunder as his voice. He rides a storm-cloud and throws lightning bolts to humans and trees. He lives in a puddle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kakadu National Park</span> Protected area in the Northern Territory, Australia

Kakadu National Park is a protected area in the Northern Territory of Australia, 171 km (106 mi) southeast of Darwin. It is a World Heritage Site. Kakadu is also gazetted as a locality, covering the same area as the national park, with 313 people recorded living there in the 2016 Australian census.

Major Leslie James Hiddins AM, known as "The Bush Tucker Man" is a retired Australian Army soldier and war veteran who is best known for his love and knowledge of the Australian bush. Hiddins is recognized by his distinctively modified Akubra hat and big cheesy grin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wandering whistling duck</span> Species of bird

The wandering whistling duck is a species of whistling duck. They inhabit tropical and subtropical Australia, the Philippines, Borneo, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and the Pacific Islands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alligator Rivers</span> River delta in northern Australia

Alligator Rivers is the name of an area in an Arnhem Land region of the Northern Territory of Australia, containing three rivers, the East, West, and South Alligator Rivers. It is regarded as one of the richest biological regions in Australia, with part of the region in the Kakadu National Park. It is an Important Bird Area (IBA), lying to the east of the Adelaide and Mary River Floodplains IBA. It also contains mineral deposits, especially uranium, and the Ranger Uranium Mine is located there. The area is also rich in Australian Aboriginal art, with 1500 sites. The Kakadu National Park is one of the few World Heritage sites on the list because of both its natural and human heritage values. They were explored by Lieutenant Phillip Parker King in 1820, who named them in the mistaken belief that the crocodiles in the estuaries were alligators.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bush tucker</span> Food used as sustenance by Indigenous Australians

Bush tucker, also called bush food, is any food native to Australia and used as sustenance by Indigenous Australians, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, but it can also describe any native flora or fauna used for culinary or medicinal purposes, regardless of the continent or culture. Animal native foods include kangaroo, emu, witchetty grubs and crocodile, and plant foods include fruits such as quandong, kutjera, spices such as lemon myrtle and vegetables such as warrigal greens and various native yams.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gunbalanya, Northern Territory</span>

Gunbalanya is an Aboriginal Australian town in west Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory of Australia, about 300 kilometres (190 mi) east of Darwin. The main language spoken in the community is Kunwinjku. At the 2021 Australian census, Gunbalanya had a population of 1,177.

Bininj Kunwok is an Australian Aboriginal language which includes six dialects: Kunwinjku, Kuninjku, Kundjeyhmi, Manyallaluk Mayali (Mayali), Kundedjnjenghmi, and two varieties of Kune. Kunwinjku is the dominant dialect, and also sometimes used to refer to the group. The spellings Bininj Gun-wok and Bininj Kun-Wok have also been used in the past, however Bininj Kunwok is the current standard orthography.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fawn antechinus</span> Species of marsupial

The fawn antechinus is a species of small carnivorous marsupial found in northern Australia. It is the only Antechinus to be found in the Northern Territory and has a patchy, restricted range.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rock-haunting ringtail possum</span> Species of marsupial

The rock-haunting ringtail possum, also known as the rock ringtail possum, is a species of Australian possum. It is found in rocky escarpments in the Kimberley, Arnhem Land and Gulf of Carpentaria across Western Australia and Northern Territory and just passing the Queensland border. It is also found on Groote Eylandt. It is the only species in the genus Petropseudes, but is part of the group including the common ringtail possum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Agile wallaby</span> Species of marsupial

The agile wallaby, also known as the sandy wallaby, is a species of wallaby found in northern Australia and southern New Guinea. It is the most common wallaby in north Australia. The agile wallaby is a sandy colour, becoming paler below. It is sometimes solitary and at other times sociable and grazes on grasses and other plants. The agile wallaby is not considered threatened.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jim Jim Falls</span> Waterfall in Northern Territory, Australia

The Jim Jim Falls is a plunge waterfall on the Jim Jim Creek that descends over the Arnhem Land escarpment within the UNESCO World Heritage–listed Kakadu National Park in the Northern Territory of Australia. The Jim Jim Falls area is registered on the Australian National Heritage List.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flora of Kakadu National Park</span>

This is a list of plants commonly found in Kakadu National Park, Northern Territory of Australia. Where known, common names are given in English and in Gun-djeihmi, a commonly spoken indigenous language in the area, are given in parentheses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kunwinjku people</span> Australian Aboriginal people of West Arnhem Land

The Kunwinjku people are an Australian Aboriginal people, one of several groups within the Bininj people, who live around West Arnhem Land to the east of Darwin, Northern Territory. Kunwinjku people generally refer to themselves as "Bininj" in much the same way that Yolŋu people refer to themselves as "Yolŋu".

<i>Persoonia falcata</i> Species of shrub

Persoonia falcata, commonly known as the wild pear, is a shrub native to northern Australia.

<i>Sersalisia sericea</i> Species of plant

Sersalisia sericea, also known as wild prune, mangarr, and mongo is a species of shrubs or small trees, of the plant family Sapotaceae They grow naturally in monsoon forest, littoral rainforest, and occasionally in more open forest types across Northern Australia.

<i>Livistona humilis</i> Species of palm

Livistona humilis, the sand palm, is an Australian plant species of the family Arecaceae. It is a small, slender palm, growing to about 7 m tall and 5–8 cm dbh. It has 8 to 15 fan-shaped leaves, 30–50 cm long with petioles 40–70 cm long. It is endemic to the Top End of the Northern Territory in Australia. Genetic investigation suggests that its closest relation is Livistona inermis. This palm is fire tolerant and usually grows in environments where it is exposed to frequent fires.

The Bininj are an Aboriginal Australian people of Western Arnhem land in the Northern Territory. The sub-groups of Bininj are sometimes referred to by the various language dialects spoken in the region, that is, the group of dialects known as Bininj Kunwok; so the people may be named the Kunwinjku, Kuninjku, Kundjeyhmi (Gundjeihmi), Manyallaluk Mayali, Kundedjnjenghmi and Kune groups.

Terminalia canescens, commonly known as joolal, winged nut tree, or wingnut, and also known by its Aboriginal name djilanydjin in north-western Australia, is a tree of the family Combretaceae native to northern parts of Australia.

Terminalia cunninghamii, commonly known as pindan quondong, pindan walnut or kalumburu almond, is a tree or shrub of the family Combretaceae native to Western Australia. Some Aboriginal people know the plant as kumpaja.

References

  1. ↑ Turner, S. (2021). "Terminalia ferdinandiana". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2021: e.T173844325A173844510. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-3.RLTS.T173844325A173844510.en . Retrieved 27 June 2023.
  2. ↑ "Terminalia ferdinandiana Exell". Plants of the World Online. The Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. n.d. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
  3. ↑ "Terminalia ferdinandiana Exell". Catalogue of Life. Species 2000. n.d. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 "Terminalia ferdinandiana". FloraBase . Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 "Terminalia ferdinandiana (Gubinge)" . Retrieved 17 November 2015.
  6. ↑ Ken Fern (2014). "Terminalia ferdinandiana". Useful Tropical Plants Database. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
  7. ↑ Exell, Arthur Wallis (1935). "Notes from the British Museum Herbarium". Journal of Botany, British and Foreign. 74: 263.
  8. 1 2 Brand JC, Cherikoff V, Lee A, McDonnell J (1982). "Nutrients in important bushfoods" (PDF). Proceedings of the Nutritional Society of Australia. 7: 50–54.
  9. 1 2 "Terminalia ferdinandiana Exell". NT Flora. Northern Territory Government . Retrieved 16 July 2017.
  10. 1 2 3 4 Leach, Greg (31 May 2019). "Meet the Kakadu plum: an international superfood thousands of years in the making". The Conversation . Retrieved 19 August 2021.
  11. 1 2 3 "Kakadu Plum Management Program". Department of Environment, Parks and Water Security (Northern Territory). 18 April 2019. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
  12. ↑ Clarke PA (2007). Aboriginal people and their plants. Kenthurst, NSW, Australia: Rosenberg Publishing Pty Ltd.
  13. ↑ Isaacs J. (1987). Bush Food. Australia: Weldons Pty Ltd.
  14. ↑ Hegarty MP, Hegarty EE. Food Safety of Australian Plant Bushfoods, Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation 2001; publication number 01/28, ACT, Australia.
  15. ↑ Gorman JT, Griffiths AD, Whitehead PJ (2006). "An analysis of the use of plant products for commerce in remote Aboriginal communities of Northern Australia". Econ Bot. 60 (4): 362–373. doi:10.1663/0013-0001(2006)60[362:AAOTUO]2.0.CO;2.
  16. 1 2 Williams, David J.; Edwards, David; Pun, Sharon; Chaliha, Mridusmita; Burren, Brian; Tinggi, Ujang; Sultanbawa, Yasmina (16 August 2016). "Organic acids in Kakadu plum (Terminalia ferdinandiana): The good (ellagic), the bad (oxalic) and the uncertain (ascorbic)" (PDF). Food Research International. 89 (1): 237–244. doi:10.1016/j.foodres.2016.08.004. ISSN   1873-7145. PMID   28460910.
  17. ↑ Department of Health (Northern Territory) (2005). "Chapter 3: Food and Nutrition". Public Health Bush Book. Volume 2: Facts & Approaches to Three Key Public Health Issues. DoH Digital Library. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
  18. 1 2 O'Brien, Kristy; Levy, Anna (22 July 2021). "It's known to be a superfood, but what exactly are the health benefits of the Kakadu plum?". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation . Retrieved 19 August 2021.
  19. ↑ Brann, Matt (19 September 2013). "ABC News". Bush plum proving fruitful for seafood industry. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
  20. ↑ "Karen Sheldon Catering – serving up innovation". business.gov.au. Australian Government, Business. 10 June 2021. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
  21. 1 2 Mills, Vanessa (16 August 2021). "Why superfruits could see this red dirt field in Broome deliver an annual, $5m crop within years". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation . Retrieved 17 August 2021.
  22. ↑ Garde, Murray. "manmorlak". Bininj Kunwok dictionary. Bininj Kunwok Regional Language Centre. Retrieved 22 June 2019.
  23. ↑ Zorc, David. "ŋäṉ'ka-bakarra". Yolŋu Matha dictionary. Charles Darwin University. Retrieved 22 June 2019.
  24. 1 2 Russell-Smith, Jeremy (2018). Sustainable Land Sector Development in Northern Australia : Indigenous rights, aspirations, and cultural responsibilities. p. Box 4.4. ISBN   9780429895579.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.