Post #1069644

#SerenityInOz— a quiz about Australian stuff — Sat 11 April, 2026 (Please boost for reach, and try to CW your answers) ——— wikipedia tells me there are several different plants sometimes called Billygoat Plum — but today’s answer is an alternative common name, which seems to refer to one plant only —- based on the botanical name, and the Indigenous uses of the plant, :questionbox: what is the common name of this plant? (clue -it’s not a *plum* 😉) the botanical name is Planchonia Careya Distribution: Across northern tropical Australia and down the east coast to about Fraser Island, in open forests and woodlands. Planchonia careya is a small tree, 4-10 metres high, which is briefly deciduous in the dry season. Bark is grey, rough, slightly corky and fissured. Leaves are egg-shaped or spatula-shaped, tapering to the base, shiny light green above, dull beneath, softly leathery, margins having rounded teeth, 2.5-10 cm x 3-6 cm. The leaves turn rusty-orange before falling. The flowers of are large, white and fleshy with numerous pink and white stamens 5-6 cm long. Flowering is quite prolific but not readily apparent as the flowers open in the evening and usually fall by morning. Flowering period is July to October. The fruit is green, egg-shaped and smooth to 9 cm x 4 cm. Seeds are contained in a fibrous, cheesy flesh and the fruit was popular with Indigenous people. The fruit — which tastes similar to quince — is readily eaten by cockatoos and goats. Indigenous Australians … *pulverized the inner bark of this species and added it to small water bodies to act as a fish toxin, allowing fish to be easily collected from the surface of the water. (This is known to have been a practice used at Cleveland Bay. *The roots of the species were also used as a fish toxin (at Bustard Bay, 650 kms south of cleveland bay) * boiled the inner bark of this species in water and the resulting liquid was used as an antiseptic wash for open cuts and sores. *placed the heated leaves of this species over mosquito and sandfly bites to relieve irritation. *used the flowers of this species as decorations.