17 low-maintenance Australian bush foods you can grow and cook with

The needle-like leaves and waxy flowers of this cultivar have a similar flavour to lemon myrtle, adding a tangy sensation to sauces, cakes and drinks. The bush is smothered with tiny white flowers from winter to spring, bringing your winter garden alive. A native of Western Australia, it prefers a dry, Mediterranean climate, full sun and a sandy soil.

This is the caviar of bush tucker – break the fruit in half when they feel slightly soft and squeeze out the juicy, citrusy, pearly beads. Finger lime fruit varies in colour from yellow, green, pink or crimson and should be eaten only when ripe in autumn and winter. Pop the beads in drinks or add to a seafood dish. Grow in full sun or part shade as a specimen tree or a hedge. Its thorns will protect you against intruders so plant it under a window you like to keep slightly open.

Berries mature from delightful blue and yellow flowers in late summer and autumn. They are best eaten when dark purple. They taste like a mix between a grape, a blueberry and a pear, with a slightly nutty aftertaste, and are delicious spread on scones or toast as a jam or relish. Mass plant along borders or paths in well-drained soil and under full sun. Make sure to double-check that you have the right kind of flax lily because some are considered toxic and are not safe to consume (like Dianella tasmanica).

Its pretty daisy-like flowers turn into warty-like fruit that contain a rich and sweet-tasting pulp when you squeeze them. You can also use the leaves to cook with game meat, or toss in a salad, a stir-fry or a seafood dish for a refreshing burst of flavour. It is very drought-tolerant, and you can grow it as a groundcover or on a slope where it stops erosion.

Add the fresh, young leaves, with their intensely citrus fragrance, to hot water for a refreshing tea, or incorporate them in biscuits, marinades and syrups. A rainforest tree, it grows to 8m in the wild, but only about 3m in your garden. It has an elegant form so make it a garden highlight, especially in autumn when its fragrant, creamy flowers appear.

This glossy, fast-growing shrub is now a favourite informal hedge because of its dense foliage and sparkling pink or white spring flowers. Then in autumn, the deep crimson or soft pink berries emerge. The taste is tart, a bit like cranberry, and ideal for making into jams, chutneys or cordials. Harvest when the fruit is glossy and full coloured. Grow in full sun or partial shade. As a hedge, it’s a brilliant wildlife corridor.

The nuts are creamy, buttery in texture and rich in flavour. The tree grows best in tropical or subtropical areas and can get quite large – up to 20m high and 10m wide – although dwarf varieties get to about 3m. It’s an elegant, evergreen tree that produces beautiful, fragrant white-to-pink flower racemes in spring that turn into those delicious nuts that are enclosed in a thick shell from autumn to spring.

Early autumn is when these tiny white, purple-speckled berries emerge on this small shrub. You need to be quick or the birds will take advantage. The sweet, slightly tangy flavour makes them so addictive you can eat the whole harvest in one go. This plant can grow in full sun or part shade and is ideal for coastal gardens.

Once a staple food across south-eastern Australia, the tuberous roots can be eaten raw or roasted. With a slightly sweet, nutty flavour, they can even be used as a dessert. You can also add the leaves to salads. The tubers start forming in late summer and autumn underneath the pretty daisy-like flowers and they’re ripe for pulling up in spring. Plant in full sun in drifts to create a wild meadow effect.

Although it’s a type of mint, this plant’s aroma is more reminiscent of basil, so it enhances any tomato-based meal – imagine it scattered on top of a pizza. A low-growing shrub, it produces broad, fuzzy leaves throughout the year, and clusters of tiny purple or blue flowers arrive in summer. Grow in full sun or part shade, or in a pot on a balcony.

When the leaves of this pretty perennial die back in mid-summer, it’s time to dig up the edible corms and roast them for a sweet treat. Once flowering has finished in early autumn, the seeds can also be lightly roasted to add a nutty, anise flavour to salads and vegetables. Or let them germinate for more food next season. They grow naturally in dry forests, woodlands and grasslands, but also make an impression along a border or in a cottage garden.

Tiny leaves, tiny flowers, but there’s no ignoring it when it’s in bloom – the visual effect and perfume are overwhelming. While less sweet than the Mediterranean oregano, it’s twice as intense so you only need half the amount of leaves. Add to salads, sauces and meat dishes or make a cup of tea. Grow in a temperate climate in a slightly shaded spot. It looks stunning in a cottage garden when the flowers come out in spring.

The glowing, grey leaves can be blanched, sautéed, tossed into salads or dried to be crumpled and sprinkled on food for a salty flavour. The plant is drought-tolerant, thrives in coastal areas and likes full sun or part shade. Growing up to 3m tall, you can regularly trim it to keep it compact. The foliage adds a shimmer to any garden.

Ideal for growing in a shady spot, this is a multi-purpose food plant. The bright-blue, grape-like autumn berries have a tangy, ginger flavour, the leaves are used to wrap fish and chicken for steaming and give the meat a subtle ginger taste, while the tubers give an earthy ginger flavour to curries and desserts. Highly ornamental in any shady garden, it likes its soil to be constantly moist.

Found naturally around rivers, bogs and other damp, shaded places, this has a soft, refreshing mint taste with a eucalyptus edge. Pop it in teas, salads and sauces for a minty kick. You can use the leaves fresh or chop them up for drying, although the fragrance and flavour will eventually fade. Plant in moist soil in part shade, but it’s best grown in containers as it can spread wildly.

This produces the most fabulous calyxes – these are fused or separate sepals – that are focus pullers in any garden. After flowering has finished, pluck them off to use as a tart-sweet flavour in salads, jams and jellies, sauces, cordials and teas. If you want, roast the seeds and grind them into flour to include in damper for flavoursome bread. It’s a tropical plant, so won’t survive frosts.

This is Australia’s answer to spinach. It’s a hardy, sprawling vegetable that can be eaten raw, pulverised into a delicious pesto with macadamia nuts, sautéed or thrown into stir-fries. It grows in sun or part shade and thrives in coastal gardens, where it helps hold sandy soil together. Let it spill over raised beds so it imitates a green waterfall.