Blue Quadong, Cooloon

Its a large tree with buttresses and a whitish bark with a not surprising profusion of green elliptical leaves which sometimes turn reddish before falling and white bell shaped flowers - so what might you ask is so special about this odd sounding Queensland tree?

Well these :

I collected them from the ground and brought them home and then placed them on different backgrounds to see if it really was the most magical blue in the natural world. Judge for yourself - they are astonishingly blue and edible.The name comes from the Wiradjuri language and means"nut".They taste like olives and are full of Vitamin C.They have been around for thousands of years.Animals munch on them but they are also eaten by locals and jams and marmalades (see previous post) have been made from them. The aboriginals made an edible paste of the fruit and used them for necklaces and earrings. Given that blue is my favourite colour I hope Santa is taking note.