5 medicinal plants used by Australian Aboriginals

Australia has been inhabited for at least 65,000 years, and for all those generations the land has provided Indigenous Australians with everything they needed to live a healthy life.

At least half of the food eaten by early Australians came from plants, and gathering them was women’s work. Fruits, seeds and leaves were seasonal, but roots could usually be dug up all year round, because the soil acted as a natural storehouse.

Plants used for food and medicine vary in different regions of Australia. In Arnhem Land, North Queensland and the Kimberley, many tropical trees are grown, including the native fig tree (Fig genus), Lily Pills (Ackmena, Eugenia and Adonis genus) and macadamia nuts.

In central Australia, where water is scarce, the plant is thinly spread across the land. Here, people call it mulga (Acacia aneura), streaky wattles (Acacia coriacea) and the Koolabah tree (Eucalyptus Microtheca).

In southern Australia, roots (the term applies to all underground parts of plants) were the most important food.

As medicine, various parts of the plant were used.Mint) was used as a remedy for coughs and colds, and gum tree resin, which is rich in tannins, was used to treat burns.Buchanania obovata) is extremely rich in Vitamin C.

Here are five other plants with medicinal properties.

1. Kangaroo Apple (Solanum abiculare or Solanaceae)

This is a good example of a food source and medicinal plant for many Victorian Aboriginal people. This shrub varies in height, its leaves resemble kangaroo paws and it produces purple flowers.

The first fruits that form are yellow or green and are highly poisonous, but are edible when fully ripe and turn blood orange. The fruits contain high amounts of the alkaloid solanine, and the leaves can be used to make a steroid by steeping in boiling water.

Also known as bush apple, this plant has been cultivated around the world to produce and manufacture oral contraceptives using extracts from the young leaves and green fruit.

2. Wattles (Acacia)

There are over 1000 wattle species in Australia. The resin of some species (golden, silver and black wattle) was a useful cement as well as an important food source. The seeds of other species were high in protein and carbohydrates and were eaten both fresh and dried in arid regions.

Wattle flowers were hung in people’s huts to induce sleep. In Victoria, the bark of the Blackwood tree (Acacia melanoxylon) was used in a decoction to cleanse rheumatoid joints, or taken as a mild sedative for rheumatism and indigestion.

3. Old man’s weed (centipede)

Commonly found along the Murray River and other low-lying wetlands, this plant is effective in treating a variety of conditions, including eye infections, tuberculosis and skin disorders. It can be administered as an extract dissolved in water or rubbed onto the skin.

It is often used to treat colds, coughs and chest infections, but as a natural restorative plant it also helps to boost the immune system and motor function.

4. Drooping Sheoak (Allocasuarina verticillata)

In Victoria, the mature cones of this tree were crushed and applied to wounds to treat rheumatism, and extracts from the bark and wood can also be used as a general medicine.

Read more: Traditional Aboriginal healers need to work with doctors to bridge the gap

5. Hop Bush (Dodonaea viscosa)

This plant is found throughout Australia, and in Queensland, the juice from the root is used to treat toothaches and cuts.

The chewed leaves and juice were applied to stonefish and stingray stings and bandaged for four or five days.

Katherine “Kat” Clark, an artist and proud woman from Wimla, contributed to this article.

The artworks featured in this article are on display at the University of Melbourne Museum of Medical History as part of the exhibition The Art of Healing: Indigenous Australian Bush Medicine, running until 28 September. This article comprises excerpts from essays published in the exhibition catalogue.