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There are hundreds of different types of Sumac ( Rhus spp. ) growing all over the world. Sumac produces aromatic sour fruit that can be used to flavour just about anything. I have it on good authority it's one of the vague “herbs and spices” in Arnott's Pizza Shapes! The sumac berries are actually tiny drupes [stone fruits], packed together in a cluster. We even have a native Australian Sumac, Rhus taitensis , that grows in northern Queensland. This doesn't taste especially

Figs seem weirdly overrepresented in religious lore. The Buddha reached enlightenment while sitting under a fig tree. Adam and Eve used fig leaves to hide their bums. Islamic teachings say figs are good for curing haemorrhoids. I will attest that if you eat 10 figs, your poops will be as smooth as God intended. Long before humanity started farming, ancient foragers were eating these heavenly snacks. Figs were the first tree we domesticated, and people started planting fig tr

On an ancient Middle Eastern battlefield, the Seleucid army is lining up its most fearsome weapons: war elephants. But before the battle, the elephants' breakfast of mulberries was spiked with booze, to get them ready for battle. Historians debate whether this was to calm their nerves or spur on a fighting mood, but you can only imagine the scene of tipsy elephants leading the charge, probably far more interested in eating more mulberries than following orders. Mulberry indu

I'm easily seduced by the promise of a ripe loquat. Around Melbourne, there is an absolute abundance of them. It's a lush tropical fruit; tasting like a super juicy pineapple-apricot-lemon. But even if slightly underripe, PWAaaH!, they're unpleasantly sour. You'll never find them at the supermarket, probably because of their short shelf life. But foraging is more fun than shopping anyway. Kids, go outside and get some sunshine! If you haven't noticed them before, you'll not

In Melbourne, olives are the street kids of forageable trees. Shout out to all the post-WWII Italian and Greek migrants who planted them along the nature strip. Melbourne’s olive streets have been established since the 1950s. Urban olive foraging = honouring legacy plantings + sustainable food. Don’t pick from busy roads—you wanna stick to the backstreets. Car exhaust is not your friend; it tastes like cancer and is just as unhealthy. So go on a little adventure to find the

When I was young, the meth house across the street caught fire, leaving it cordoned off by a police fence. Spotting a tight gap in the fence, but next to a huge prickly pear, I thought, Why not? Let's go tamper with some evidence. Squeezing through, I underestimated the cactus' fine hair prickles. The meth lab itself was a letdown—just a charred shell with nothing interesting inside. Karma later struck, and the true struggle began at home, where prickles invaded my bed, clo

Despite the name, the Strawberry Tree ( Arbutus unedo ) has nothing to do with strawberries. The only thing they have in common is red coloured fruit. It's not the only plant trying to pass off a fake ID. Pineapples aren't apples, coconuts aren't nuts, and raspberries aren't true berries. Back in the olden days, plants were sometimes named based on their appearance rather than botanical relationships. Chances are, you might not have ever heard of a Strawberry Tree, let alone

Lilly Pillies are just about everywhere! You'll find mighty bush trees in NSW and QLD that seem to fruit all year round. But in Victoria they're an urban forager's delight. Households grow them as hedges to keep the peeping toms from looking in. Councils love planting them everywhere; you'll even spot a massive tree behind the public toilets in Reservoir. I’m not sure how close is too close when it comes to foraging next to a public dunny, but I’m willing to push those bounda

Blackberry season makes me think of winding country paths, baskets overflowing with ripe berries, and fingertips stained dark lilac. But really, blackberries are usually thorny tangled messes with unpredictable berry quality. You’ll find yourself reconsidering picking them with the odd council issued warning, perhaps thumbtacked to a nearby tree: “ Do not eat these berries. We poisoned them. ” Only once I noticed that someone had followed through, a rare instance of unmistak