Beer from the bush in Australia!
Australian Bush Tucker Bites presents Wedge Leaf Hop Bush (Dodonaea viscosa).
Before traditional brewing made its way to Australian shores, colonists brewed beer from the fruits of this bush. Of course, for thousands of years before that it had been used by First Nations people.
Primarily a medicinal plant for First Nations people documented uses include:
- pain relief
- toothaches, and
- as a poultice for treating stone fish and stingray wounds.
The plant uses ants to distribute the seeds by attracting them with a fleshy attachment which they remove, discarding the seed underground which keeps them out of reach of hungry birds.
With seven described sub-species, there’s a native hop bush for most climate zones across the Australian continent, making it a great choice for any bush tucker garden.
This post was originally published on Medium as a part of the “Australian Bush Tucker Bites” series which is also available as an eBook introducing 52 bush food plants from around Australia.
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