Santalum acuminatum - Native Peach / Quandong - 20 seeds
This Australian native is a very popular bush tucker plant that has a really interesting growth habit. It is a hemiparasitic plant which means that it is partially parasitic, relying on the host plants for water and soil nutrients but not for sugars.
It produces a modified root system called a haustorium - this attaches to a host root and extracts xylem sap.
Santalum seems to rely on nitrogen fixing trees eg. Acacia and Casuarina although it is known to parasite other plants and it usually has more than one host at a time.
It grows into a small tree or large shrub from 1 - 6m tall.
It grows in a variety of habitats that are generally nutrient poor and free draining.
It has olive green leaves 3 - 9cm long that are Eucalyptus like and often with a sickle curve.
Small cream flowers occur in racemes in late Summer, fruits ripen in the Spring forming a shiny red skinned rounded drupe 15 - 25mm in diameter, fruit is 3 - 5mm thick, edible and widely used as a food by Indigenous Australians.
Best in full sun is well drained soils, it is quite drought tolerant, salt tolerant and frost tolerant when mature.
Propagation and cultivation is difficult but not impossible and definitely worth trying to get this delicious bush tucker fruit!
Seed has a dormancy which is strongest in fresh seeds, 1 year of aging increases the germination from 5 - 30% with 3 years giving about a 35% germination.
The testa needs to be broken to induce germination, this can be done by carefully using a vice to crack the hard seed coat.
Sow the cracked seed in a good quality propagation media and keep moist until germination.
This listing is for 20 premium quality seeds shipped on receipt of cleared funds.