Native Cherry, Exocarpus cupressiformis or otherwise called Cherry Ballart is an attractive small tree with fine, pendulous branches with insignificant leaves and tiny white flowers. It is semi parasitic on the roots of nearby plants, but as it matures, it relies more on photosynthesis to provide its food. Larger specimens are frequently seen as sub canopy trees in drier, rocky sites of eucalyptus woodlands. Their elegant form and drooping yellow green foliage, distinguishes them from the surrounding sclerophyllous vegetation.
This attribute has lead to its earlier use as an attractive native Christmas tree, which today is hopefully a tradition of the past, with the easy availability of "Radiata Pine" saplings.
Strangely enough, each time I see the fleshy, red fruit, they bring back memories of the cashew nut plantation that I visited in Sri Lanka. On closer inspection of these somewhat unusual fruits, they consist of a swollen fleshy red stalk (pedicel) on which the real seed bearing fruit (nut-like) grows. It is exactly the same design for the cashew nut tree, with the nut located on the outside of its fleshy fruit.
So why does nature provide these weird variations to normal fruits? Basically, it ensures that the plant's seed is dispersed. The many fruit eating birds cannot help but ingest the seed prior to devouring the juicy fruit. These seeds, with their tough outer shell weakened by the bird's digestive juices, are dropped away from the mother plant to germinate surrounded by the nutrients present in the bird's dropping.
Of course the Latin name Exocarpos makes sense, translated to mean "nut or seed on the outside of a fleshy fruit". This is somewhat strange when you think of a peach with its seed within a fleshy fruit pulp.
The Native Cherry excited a lot of interest and comment from English settlers, who liked its taste enough to collect the fruits for added fresh food supplies, but saw it as an example of the upside down strangeness of Australia's plant's and animals.
The fruit was eaten raw or cooked, but was only picked when deep red and ready to fall.
The early farmers were cautious of the plant, as it was known that the foliage was toxic to stock.
The Aboriginal people enjoyed these juicy, sweet fruits as a late springtime treat, rather than as a staple food. As the trees grow sparsely in the woodlands and the ripe fruits are small in number on the trees during the fruiting season, collection of large amounts was relatively difficult.
The sap of the tree was used as a snake bite treatment, while the twigs provided a bitter tonic and astringent. This astringent proved valuable as a solution for stopping infection on sores and cuts.
The leaves were also use to create a smoke for repelling insects during the warmer summer months.
Of interest, is the use by north eastern Australian aboriginals, of the closely related species Exocarpus latifolius (Broad-leaved native cherry).
This plant had yellow fruit, which was again eaten when very ripe. However, its bark was soaked to provide a tonic for the sterilization of tribal women, no longer allowed to give birth due to tribal traditions.
As a result of the difficulty in propagating the plant from seed or cuttings its wonderful horticultural potential has yet to be achieved. Most nursery persons can successfully produce young seedlings and rooted cuttings. However, many will die very early in their growing stages. This is a result of the plants parasitic nature, which means they are reliant on fungal associations to enable them to grow through the seedling stage to healthy adults.
Skilful nursery people supply this fungal association, found in association with decaying native vegetation, in their potting mixtures used to grow on the developing seedlings.
The effort of sourcing a healthy seedling will be repaid by the pride of having an elegant, somewhat rare feature plant, prominently located in your native garden.
Phil Watson
