Wild Peach-Quandong
The yummiest of the Australian native foods is the Quandong, or Wild Peach, fruit of Santalum acuminatum. These make great pies, served with cream, icecream or custard. As the fruit is quite tart, extra sugar is required but they are certainly a treat.
Years ago we had a tree when we were living in the north of South Australia. Being parasitic we were sure that its roots were attached to a very old grape vine which grew nearby. I remember many feasts when we could beat the birds to the fruit.
Friends in the mallee often had enough fruit from their tree to freeze it. Before Quandong Pie made its appearance in restaurants, Bev was supplying frozen fruit to a private concern in Adelaide. How they heard about the supply, I don’t know.
I was given a Sunshine Milk tin of dried fruit which had come from the upper north of the state. I thought that all my Christmases had come at once!
This a widespread large shrub or tree. It has small insignificant greenish flowers followed by large shiny red fruits. It grows widely in drier areas of the country. A host plant is needed when the plants are about twelve months old. Perennial grasses are often used.
It is not easy to propagate. Some say put the seed in a hessian bag with some peat and throw it behind the back shed and check it a few months later! Various methods are used. One that is supposed to work is to soak the kernal which has been removed from the hard shell, in a solution of household bleach for half an hour. Place the kernels in a plastic bag with moist wood shavings and keep cool and dark until germination takes place. Remove the sprouted kernels as soon as possible to individual pots.
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I live in Brisbane, Queensland – and am looking for a tree. Could anyone please advise where I am able to buy in Queensland one of these i.e. Wild Peach – Santalum Accuminatum.
Thank you,
Margaret Parker
Margaret, try Neilson’s Natives Nursery at Cornubia 30kms south of Brisbane. Ring first to see if they have the plants.
i have just progated yellow kernals, and here is asimple way of doing it one t6ake alargesealable plastic bag use peat mosswet then ringout most excess water put into bag with six or seven seed’s seal bag and leave in side house, iput my seeds in straight after picking fruit last oct 2007 and they are now starting to shoot try this method it works for me rgds chris. p.s dot ihave alarge quanity of seed ofthe red vareity lf any one would like some, contact me candjevans@aapt.net.au
Can some one answere if Quandong will grow in tropics like to Darwin.
Thank you Des & Ester
hello
I was wondering if anyone could help me out ,where i could buy Quongdong fruit here in Adelaide as we have little fruit on our trees this year… to keep out pies flowing at our country markets!
be wonderfull if you could help
thanx
can someone tell me how to freeze quondongs. Do I leave as whole fruit or remove the kernal.
regards Sherene
i heard you can buy from outbackchef.com.au
or Australiashopping.us.
i also heard this sweet and tangy fruit(desert peach) is good for relieving inflammation and even helps flush toxins from your system. it’s one of the only known sources of santalbic acid, a unique fatty acid that kills germs. loaded with even more immunity-boosting vitamin c than an orange! considered to be the oldest friut on earth.
Yes I think our desert quandong is related to sandlewood trees and even here they do have a lovely scent to the wood. It is a big export industry in Western Australia. Where I live they grow wild and in the Pilliga Forest in NSW they are like an orchard but if the conditions are not good they dont crop very well and they are hard to grow in home gardent as they need a host plant as they get older.
I wish I could grow them near my house and enjoy its red fruits with my friends. In my country India the only one variety of Santalum, the Chandan is found, which does not give an edible fruit but its wood is lovely fragrant.
I have a wild peach tree which is approx. 600 height and loaded with fruit which are half red or pink but quite hard. Do I leave the fruit on the tree until it ripen and go soft or do I pick it off the tree and let it ripen in a paper bag in the cupboard.
In general the fruit is picked red. I have a friend who places are tarpaulin under his tree to catch the ones that drop and prevent insect infestation.
I want to buy quandong seed what is the price
I don’t sell the seeds. Try Nindethana Seed Company in Western Australia, or Tranen Seeds. Both Companies have an on line Catalogue.
I wouldike to buy some seed does anyone have any available please
Jan. Tree Frog Native Nursery. treefrog@eftel.net.au
Hello there.
Interesting to learn about native Australian wild peach Quandong.
Is the weather in Melbourne suitable for growing Quandong? Anyone with some experience to share?
Thank you.
https://www.agrifutures.com.au/farm-diversity/quandong/
Just wanting to know if i can prune back a large quandong tree in my back yard. And how and when to do it
“Training and pruning of quandong trees should be early and light to improve tree structure and attain the desired tree shape.”
This is a quote from this article: https://www.agrifutures.com.au/farm-diversity/quandong/
Thankyou for your reply. Interesting article.
I would like to buy a quandong tree for my backyard.
Where can I buy one in Victoria? We live in North West of Victoria.
I would prefer an established tree rather than growing from seed.
Hi there Amanda,
There are several nurseries in Mildura which may be able to help you. Try a Google search.
How to freeze Quandongsdo you have to take seed out
Cut the fruit into halves, remove the seed and the fruit can then be frozen for up to 8 years. The kernel inside the seeds can be eaten and taste like almonds, but some can be very bitter so be careful.
Does anyone know were to buy Quandong trees in South Autralia.
Try nurseries listed in the various state chapters of the Australian Native Plant Society http://anpsa.org.au/links.html
Our quandong tree has been infested with mistletoe and has now taken over. Can we heavily prune these branches out without killing the tree. Tree is over 15 years old and some infected branches about 20-35mm thick. Will it shoot and regrow below the removed branches?