Native Violet | Viola hederacea
| Size of Plant: Low, spreading groundcover Edible Part: Flowers Suggested use in cooking: Use the delicate flowers as a colourful garnish for salads, desserts, cakes and drinks, or freeze them into ice cubes. Fun Fact: Native Violet spreads using slender above-ground stems, helping it form a soft living carpet in moist, sheltered areas. Cultural and historical note: Published Australian native-food references record the flowers as edible and suitable for use in salads or as a garnish. |
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Native Violet (Showy Violet, Mountain Violet)| Viola betonicifolia
| Size of Plant: 10–20 cm high. Clump-forming rather than mat-forming. Edible Part: Flowers. Young leaves (mild flavour) Suggested use in cooking: Use striking purple flowers as garnish for desserts, salads, and cheese boards. Crush flowers lightly to tint syrups or decorations. Add young leaves to green salads or herb mixes. Fun Fact: This species is the host plant for the rare Arrowhead Blue Butterfly, making it an important biodiversity plant as well as an edible one! Traditional Use: Used as a purgative, antipyretic (fever-reducing), astringent, and diaphoretic (sweat-inducing). It is also used to treat a variety of ailments, including coughs, skin conditions, nervous disorders like epilepsy, sinusitis, and kidney and lung diseases. The leaves can be eaten as a vegetable, and the flowers can be made into a soothing cordial for sore throats. |
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Native Violet (Stately Violet)| Viola eminens
| Size of Plant: Spreads 30–60 cm as a soft groundcover Edible Part: Flowers (mild, slightly sweet); Leaves (tender, mild-flavoured when young). Suggested use in cooking: Use fresh flowers as a garnish on cakes, salads, cocktails. Add young leaves to salads or sandwiches. Freeze flowers into ice cubes for drinks. Beautiful in bush-themed dessert plating. Fun Fact: Viola eminens can root at the nodes as it creeps, allowing one plant to spread and form a natural “living carpet.” Traditional Use: Traditional uses include eating the flowers in salads and using them to make syrups. Medicinally, the leaves and flowers are traditionally used to treat respiratory issues like coughs and bronchitis due to their expectorant and demulcent properties. Additionally, violets have been traditionally used to treat skin conditions and inflammation. |
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Creeping Saltbush | Rhagodia spinescens
| Size of Plant: Low-growing, spreading shrub Edible Part: Young leaves, cooked Suggested use in cooking: Cook the young leaves as a leafy green or use small amounts to add a salty flavour to savoury dishes. Fun Fact: Its grey-green foliage and tolerance of dry, saline conditions make it a useful plant for hardy garden cover. Cultural and historical note: Australian wild-food references record the cooked young leaves as edible. The plant also adds texture, shelter and resilience to native garden planting. |
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Native Pig Face | Carpobrotus rossii
| Size of Plant: Low, spreading succulent groundcover Edible Part: Fleshy leaves and the pulp of ripe fruit Suggested use in cooking: Use the fleshy leaves as a salty addition to salads or cooked dishes. When fruit is ripe, squeeze out the edible inner pulp and discard the outer skin. Fun Fact: Bright pink flowers attract bees and other insects, while its creeping stems help cover and protect the soil. Cultural and historical note: Also known as Karkalla, this coastal native has a history as an Aboriginal food plant. Its ripe fruit provides a sweet-salty seasonal harvest. |
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Photo: J Brew, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Bower Spinach | Tetragonia implexicoma
| Size of Plant: Spreading or scrambling groundcover Edible Part: Leaves Suggested use in cooking: Use the leaves as a leafy green in salads, stir-fries, pies and other dishes where spinach would normally be used. Blanching the leaves before eating or cooking is recommended. Fun Fact: A hardy coastal plant that can spread across the ground or scramble through surrounding plants. Cultural and historical note: Bower Spinach is an Australian native edible plant. Its leaves have been recorded for use fresh, steamed or as a substitute for spinach. |
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Native River Mint | Mentha australis
| Size of Plant: Spreading perennial herb, approximately 20 to 80 cm tall Edible Part: Leaves Suggested use in cooking: Use the fresh leaves as a garnish, add them to sauces and salads, or brew a refreshing mint tea. Fun Fact: It readily spreads in moist ground, making it useful beside paths and in sheltered sensory gardens. Cultural and historical note: Aboriginal plant-use records describe the leaves being used as a food flavouring. River Mint grows naturally around watercourses and wetlands. |
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