Description
Santalum acuminatum. 3.7L coir pot.
This native shrub / small tree is a type of sandalwood, and has a long history as an edible and medicinal plant.
Also known as native peach, the red fruit has a sweet and sour, peach-like / aniseed flavour, and is popular cooked, dried, preserved, eaten raw or stewed.
The fruit is high in Vitamin C and E, calcium, folate, iron, magnesium and zinc.
The kernel contains valuable proteins and is rich in oil. They can be burnt as an illuminant.
Traditionally used as a purgative tea, treatment for rheumatism, hair conditioning oil, and as a topical ointment for skin irritations (leaves were pounded to a paste and applied to sores).
They are partially parasitic, attaching to the root systems of various other plants in a non-destructive way, to acquire nutrients and some water. I often use boobialla (Myoporum insulare) as the host plant and I sell them separately.
The plant enjoys a full sun position in well-draining soil, and usually grows around 3m high by 2m wide in the garden.
Quandong don’t respond well to root disturbance, so consider where you plant them, as moving them later will likely kill them.
