While boating and fishing during February you will have noticed red fruits and white ones about the size of a cherry, floating among debris along the edges. These are two of the Lilly – Pilly fruits, of which there are several in Australia. Pioneering women used some of these fruit species to make jam. The trees of both these species along the banks of creeks and rivers are identical, except for the fruits’ colour. Both fruits are edible and rich in vitamin C and obviously useful for medicinal values with Aborigines. At the start of the wet season you might have noticed their flowers; creamy coloured and a little like dandelions, but thicker. A popular food source for honeyeaters, particularly a small migratory bird from New Guinea, the Brown – backed Honeyeater. The red – fruited species occurs throughout the river, whereas the white – fruited one occurs just down downstream of the village and upstream.

If you’ve been rained on by small white flowers during February you’ve been under a Quandong tree. The flowers attract the Rainbow lorikeets which cause a noisy disturbance. You will have noticed this fairly tall tree with long leaves and a white trunk. Clumps of red leaves are quite obvious. Ultimately, blue fruits result and they are about large olive sized. This fruit is also edible, although a little bitter! Towards the end of the wet season you will notice seeds on the ground about the size of a marble, with a pithy substance which is all that remains after the fruit bats have eaten the fruit. Weeks later the ground is littered with the brown seeds with a rough surface. This seed has been used by the Chinese as play pieces for the game of Chinese checkers. Obviously this tree is also found in the jungles of China, as are many other tree species.

Another tree also found in Asian jungles is the Candlenut. Also a light coloured tree trunk with large, shield – shaped leaves. The brown fruits are about the size of a peach. I don’t know if the Aborigines had any use of the fruits but Asians did. The name suggests that the oily seed will burn. In fact, it does and it was strung together, then lit and glows with a bright white light. You will notice the tree along the banks of the Daintree River. See you next month!

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