APPLEBERRY

(Billardiera scandens)

A plant of appleberry

Family: Pittosporaceae

Other names: Apple dumpling, common appleberry, snotberry.

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Appleberry is a fruit from Australia.  The plant is a hardy climber.  It is a common species that grows there in habitats as diverse as cool sheltered gullies to mallee scrub, from Tasmania, Victoria, and South Australia, through to New South Wales and Queensland.  Now this plant is planted in gardens in many parts of the world.

Description:

Appleberry is a bushy climber with slender stems and narrow (linear-lanceolate) dark-green leaves. It flowers very profusely from  August to January when it is just like a mass of tubular greenish-yellow flowers which give way to shiny purple berries. The flowers attract honey eaters.

Fruit an oblong berry,  up to 30 mm long, initially green in colour and covered in fine hair - somewhat akin to a tiny kiwifruit in appearance.  Fruit is edible.

Cultivation:

Appleberry requires a moist, well-drained, humus-rich, lime-free soil in sun or semi-shade with a cool root run. They tolerate temperatures down to at least -7° C in Australian gardens.  But if it has to be grown in Britain, it will require greenhouse protection during winter months.

This plant is easily propagated by seed.  It can also be multiplied by cuttings of half-ripe wood.  The cuttings should be 10-12 cm long and preferably with a heel.  The cuttings are planted in July-August.  Layering is also feasible.

            Appleberry is a hardy climber that will grow in full sun to dense shade and in sandy to clay soils. It’s even possible to establish this plant underneath established eucalypts, as long as they are given a little extra fertilizer.  Due these characteristics, Appleberry soon gained popularity where ever it was introduced as a garden plant.

Uses:

Fruits of Appleberry do not ripen on tree but only after falling down from the trees.  The fruits are then collected and induced to ripen.  Ripe fruits have a pleasant sub-acid taste similar to stewed apples or kiwifruits.  Unripe fruits are roasted and eaten.  Appleberry fruits are valued as Australian bush food.  These are fondly eaten by Australian Aborigines as well as the new settlers.