What time of year do Bunya nuts fall?

Once every three years between December and March a bumper harvest of nuts is produced. It was during this time that the Bunya Gatherings occurred, with invited Aboriginal groups travelling from all over Southeast Queensland.

How long do Bunya pines take to grow?

Araucaria bidwillii – Bunya Pine

Is the Bunya pine poisonous?

Being naturally curious I dissected the cone and found the seeds and have come across info stating that the needles and bark are toxic – especially to cats and dogs – but that humans can prepare and eat the seeds much like Bunya seeds.

Is Bunya pine fruit edible?

Facts about bunya nuts The nuts were an important food source for Aboriginal people in Queensland and northern New South Wales. “We’d either roast them on a fire, grind into a paste or flour, cooked up into little cakes, or eat them raw, boiled, or roasted in coals.”

At what age do Bunya Pines fruit?

Trees begin to bear cones at about 14 years of age. The northern populations differ from the southern in that the leaves are wider and not sharply pointed.

Is Bunya pine native to Australia?

Indigenous use The cultural connection of the Bunya pine to Aboriginal Australians is very powerful. The Bunya Mountains in southeast Queensland used to host massive gatherings of Aboriginal groups. The seed in the Bunya cone is a delicious and nutritious food, a famous and celebrated example of Australian bush tucker.

How long does it take a Bunya pine to fruit?

They are plentiful once in three years, and when the ripening season arrives, which is generally in the month of January. The trees pollinate in South East Queensland in September/October and the cones fall 17 to 18 months later in late January to early March from the coast to the current Bunya Mountains.

Has anyone ever been killed by a pinecone?

While yes, you can suffer injury or death if one of the pine cones fell on you – the chances of this actually happening are very slim. There are no recorded cases in Portland history and they are not considered dangerous according to most people – use common sense to avoid injury.

What can I do with Bunya nuts?

The nuts (seeds) can be eaten raw when fresh, but it is a lot easier to boil the seed pods to extract the nut. The nuts can then be roasted, sliced or pureed and used in desserts and savory dishes and spreads. The nuts can also be milled to a flour and then used in various doughs.

How do you prepare Bunya nuts?

Cooking with Bunya Nuts Use a strong short blade knife or Stanly knife and slice down the length of the nut. The softened shell will peel away from the nut. Slice the nut in half and discard the centre pith which can have a bitter after taste. Place the nuts in boiling water and simmer for 10 minutes.

Is Bunya nut a tree nut?

The large green Bunya pine cones (football size) are hidden in the tree canopy. Mature trees at 12-15 years produce pine cones with crops being exceptionally good every 2-3 years. The mature cone weighs 5 – 10 kg and contains 30 – 100 nuts….Territory.

What does a Bunya pine tree look like?

Mature bunya pine trees grow to 150 feet (45 m.) tall with straight, thick trunks and distinctive, symmetrical, dome-shaped crowns. The leaves are lance-shaped and the cones grow to the size of large coconuts. Bunya pine information confirms that the seeds in the cones are edible.

How many nuts are in a Bunya cone?

Facts about bunya nuts Each cone can contain up to 100 nuts It’s believed dinosaurs ate the cones whole The Bunya pine tree flowers every 3-4 years During the bumper season Lee collected thousands of nuts around the Mount Tamborine area where he lives.

What do you do with the nuts from a bunya tree?

The cones will fall from the tree when mature and should be harvested and frozen or processed within a week. The wedge shaped nuts, when removed from the fleshy cone, are encased in a wooden shell.

Why do Aboriginal people eat bunya pine cones?

According to Costello, there’s a significant body of lore surrounding the nuts contained in bunya pine cones. “Bunya trees fruit in the summertime, and that’s when clans from remote areas would travel to the Bunya Mountains [in southern Queensland] for ceremonies.

When do Bunya pine trees drop their cones?

Each January at the Australian Botanic Garden in Sydney’s Mount Annan, the bunya pine trees begin to drop their cones. If you don’t think this is a big deal, you should know that they used to be dinosaur food millions of years ago – bunya pines have been on this earth for that long.