Wattleseed Acacia spp.

Australia has over 1,000 species of wattle trees growing, most of these seeds from these trees are edible.

Gathering Wattleseed

Traditionally the seeds were collected by the women in their coolamon’s, a carved out wooden dish.  The seeds were roasted over a fire and ground using rocks to create a fine milled powder or flour.  This would then be mixed with water to create a damper.

Wattleseed a healthy food source

As wattleseed is a good source of protein, carbohydrates and fibre and was a very valuable resource for the indigenous people.  It could also be stored throughout the year and used when needed.  Particularly when there was a drought and food was scarce.

Bush Lolly

The sweet sap oozing from the bark of many of the wattle trees were a much loved “bush lolly”. The children particularly would gather the sweet sap and chew it.

Bush Medicine

Wattleseed was not only a food source but also used as a bush medicine.

It was used to treat skin sores, infections, eczema, stomach pains and headaches.

Preparation

Sometimes the preparations involved smoking the seeds and then the smoke was inhaled.  Other times the leaves of some of the wattle trees were used soaked in water to create a soothing wash for skin conditions.

It was not only the seeds and the leaves used in bush medicine, but also the bark and roots of the tree.  These were harvested, often soaked in water and smoked to create herbal infusions.

Other uses

The wood from the wattle trees were used to make coolamon’s, spears and boomerangs.

The coolamons and boomerangs were carved out of the wood and the long branches were first carved, then soaked in water, then over the fire to straighten the wood, this process happened over many times to create long straight spears.

Wattle bark sap as a bush glue

The sap from the tree trunk and branches was harvested and then mixed with fire ash to harden the sap and used as a glue when creating spears.

Many vines and plants with long leaves and tendrils were utilized as bush string to tie a wallaby or kangaroo tooth, which was sharpened with a stone, to the end of a spear.   The wattle sap made a very strong glue to bind the bush string and the sharpened tooth to the spear.