Common Name: Muntries

General Information

Kunzea pomifera is a prostrate to occasionally semi-upright, evergreen, woody, creeping shrub forming a carpet of growth 20cm or more wide[]
The plant is an important food for the native Aborigine groups who harvest it from the wild in bulk for local use and also for trade with other groups[]. It has become a popular bush food and is now cultivated, both as a food crop and as an ornamental, food-producing ground cover plant.

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

Australia - southeast South Australia and western Victoria

Habitat

Dry sandy desert areas and also by the coast[]. Coastal dunes[].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Evergreen Shrub
Height	0.25 m
Cultivation Status	Cultivated, Ornamental, Wild

Cultivation Details

Kunzea pomifera is moderately cold-hardy, tolerating occasional winter temperatures as low as about -7°c in its native habitat[], though it rerquires hot summers for the wood to ripen fully and does not do well in areas where the winter is wet[]. Wild populations grow in areas with a natural rainfall of 500 - 800mm[].
Requires a sunny, very well-drained position[]. It grows best in well-drained soils with a moderate to strong alkaline pH between 6.0 - 8.0[].
Under cultivation for their fruit, the plants can be grown successful on trellises[].
Plants produce prolific crops annually in their native habitat[].

Edible Uses

Fruit - fleshy[]. An apple flavour with a spicy, Juniper essence[, ].Used in jams, conserves, chutneys, preserves etc[, ]. Surplus fruit was traditionally pounded and dried as a cake, for later use[]. The purplish-red berries are 8 - 12mm wide and contain several seds[].

Medicinal

None known

Agroforestry Uses:

The plant is cultivated as an ornamental, friting, ground-cover[].

Other Uses

None known

Propagation

Seed -