As I write this I rejoice in the fact that Bunya tree cones have been falling at our place over the last week. I don’t rejoice so much that the nuts are falling, but more that they are landing and then available for harvest! You certainly don’t want to be under them when they are falling, as they weigh in at up to 10kg plus gravity!
The Bunya Tree Araucaria bidwillii, is one of the truly ancient members of our local forests. They hark back to the age of dinosaurs and were once widespread across Australia, and are a member of the Araucariaceae family that extends across many of the southern land masses and includes Hoop Pines, Norfolk Pines and Monkey Puzzle Pine.
These days Bunya Pine occurs naturally in one tiny patch of north Queensland, but is more widespread locally as scattered populations between the Sunshine Coast and Bunya Mountains.
The Bunya Pine was, and still is culturally and economically important to the Traditional owners of Bunya Country (on the Blackall Range and Sunshine Coast the Jinibara and Kabi Kabi / Gubbi Gubbi. A bumper crop occurs roughly every 3 years and this bumper crop provided a great excuse for a big party, family reunions, making of law and so much more.
Bunya Trees are a Blackall Range icon and easy to grow. The starchy Bunya nut sends a root deep into the ground where it forms a thick tap root (like a radish) from which the tree shoots. They are a little bit slow to start off with but once they get going can grow a metre or two per year and can be fruiting at 12-15 years – just don’t plant them near your driveway, garage, shed, water tank, house etc. for what I hope are obvious reasons…
Cooking with Bunya Nuts, boil for twenty minutes, then let them cool down enough to handle, the next bit is tricky and very, very important – don’t cut your fingers off! The husk on each individual nut is quite tough and requires a sharp knife and an equally sharp operator (pro-tip, get yourself a low-cost Polypipe Cutter, the easiest safest way of cutting bunya seed along their length). Once you get the knack you’ll get a taste for bunya that’s hard to keep up with your cutting abilities!
