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Once upon a time, Ginkgo was a dinosaur booby trap. Their seeds, stinking like vomit, lured ancient scavengers by mimicking the smell of a rotting dinosaur carcass. After a bite, the dinosaurs realised they’d been punked, spat out their snack, and unwittingly spread the seed. Trees in the Ginkgo family have existed for more than 300 million years. Ginkgo biloba is the only species left in its entire family of trees. The leaves look unmistakable. Each leaf is fan-shaped, ofte

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, clot

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 t

Do trees like to be touched? I can't tell if they're into it, but I’m definitely the weirdo in the forest who can’t keep their hands to themselves. I lay my hands on their trunks, as if trying to absorb their stories and energy. If trees could talk, would they call me a groper? Probably. But can you blame me? There’s just something so magnetic as you press your hands into the texture of their bark. Bunya Bunya (also known as the Bunya Pine, Araucaria bidwillii) has rough tex

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 unmistakab

If you’ve ever wandered near a creek and caught a whiff of onion, congratulations—you’ve met onion weed (also known as three cornered garlic, Allium triquetrum). It doesn’t hide, flaunting its dainty white flowers. Come spring, it lines creeks and rivers like a floral runner, as if setting the stage for a magical woodland ceremony; a secret runway for forest nymphs. While pretty, the onion stench excludes them from a bouquet. My parents wage constant war against the stuff in