NORTH QUEENSLAND PLUM MAKES A COMEBACK

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Davidsonia pruriens
FAMILY: Cunoniaceae

A native fruit known as Davidsons Plum, said to be widely used by early settlers in Far North Queensland around the turn of the century, is now arousing the interest of Queensland fruit growers.

During early settlement, fruit from the Davidsons plum was used for tart and pie fillings, however renewed interest over recent years comes from its use as a dessert topping, a puree sauce for meat dishes such as pork, a superb deep purple wine or as a jam not unlike Rosella jam.

Samples of the plum wine and jam were presented at the 1985 Atherton native plant expo and proved so successful all North Queensland nursery stocks of the plum were soon sold out to either commercial or backyard enthusiasts. The fruit was named after the botanist, Davidson, and according to reports, it is considered one of Australia's best native fruit by the Botany Department from the University of Queensland.

FRUIT
Davidsons plums range from 4 to 7 cm in diameter and are purple-black in colour with a few golden hairs on the smooth surface. The plum contains 2 flat star-shaped fibrous seeds surrounded by a purple-red, juicy flesh and a very tough skin covering said to be resistant to fruit fly attack. The flesh is very acid with almost no sugar. A Malanda member of the Rare Fruit Council and The Society for Growing Australian Plants, Mr. Dave Fowler said although the plum is a native of North Queensland, a number of southern areas are well-suited to production. He said the tree grows to approximately 10 metres and will tolerate frost and wind as well as extremely high rainfall, its natural habitat is red clay loam soil with a pH of 5.5 to 7.0. The fruits are green during growth, turning purple-black around October and because they fall easily and are not subject to fly, fruit remains on the ground for some time without deteriorating.

HARVESTING
Tree shaking for commercial cropping is most appropriate, as the fruit do not bruise easily. Mr. Fowler said normal distribution of the tree is quite restricted although its range can be vastly increased with irrigation. He said no pest control measures seem necessary for the fruit, and bulk transporting is possible because of the absence of bruising problems.

Commercial plants in rows with a spacing of around 9 metres provides tractor access under the canopy at maturity.

Extract from The Queensland Farmer

DATE: September 1986

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