Fruits of the Daintree

The Daintree Rainforest is a tropical oasis and if there is one thing that tropical areas are great a producing, its tropical fruits.

When we think of tropical fruits we often imagine pineapples, papayas, bananas, and mangos, however there are so many more that you may not have heard of. The Daintree is great for growing a wide variety of tropical fruits so we thought we’d run you through a few you might come to see when you’re allowed back up here again!

• Davidson Plum

  The Davidson Plum is a native Australian fruit that visually looks like a rather enlarged blueberry!

  They ripen during the Queensland winter and are one of the best known Australian native plums. They are darkly coloured with a soft pulp inside. Generally speaking, Davidson Plums are not eaten raw but used as a cooked fruit. This is due to the fruits sharp acidity and rather low sugar content.

  To make them more palatable, they are cooked down for use in sauces and jams. Some growers use the fruit in ice-creams and even wine!

  Fun fact! Though the Davidson Plum looks very similar to the European plum you likely grew up eating, they are not closely related at all. Davidson Plums are thought of as a type of gourmet bushfood due to their small population and difficulty to find.

• Macadamia

  Australia’s most famous native nut. Macadamias are a delicious nut native to Queensland and New South Wales. Though quite literally a hard nut to crack they are popular when roasted and used in a variety of both sweet and savoury cooking.

  There are four species of macadamia and three are made on commercial levels. The fourth however will never be mass-produced, not because it is too difficult or rare, but because it is toxic! If you’re wanting to grow your own macadamia though you better be a patient soul as they take up to ten years to start bearing seeds.

  Fun fact! Macadamias are so hard to crack and open that there are very few animals, other than humans, that can eat them. Macaws are one animal that can and they are often given shelled nuts in captivity to give them the challenge of opening them, fun!

• Mango

  While they aren’t a native Australian fruit, mangoes are part of Aussies past-times. Since its introduction during the 1800s Aussies have loved digging into juicy mangos every summer and lucky for us, tropical Queensland has the perfect environment to grow them.

  This juicy orange fruit is messy to eat but super delicious. They are grown on large trees, similar to other stone fruits, and are ripe once they have a beautiful orange and yellow skins. There is truly nothing a mango can’t improve!

  Fun fact! More mangoes are every day than any other fruit in the world! So you know we’re not lying when we say they’re the best fruit going round.

Tropical Queensland is the perfect place for growing not only native Australian tropical fruits but tropical fruits from around the world. Keep your eye out for Asian and South American favourites too if you ever find yourself in a northern Queensland fruit farm!

Related article: Why is the Daintree Rainforest Important?

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