category: food/groceries: Länderküche: Australien: spices

Mulga, True Mulga, bot.: Acacia aneura

Mulga or True mulga (bot.: Acacia aneura) is an acacia species from Australia. It is native to large parts of the Australian continent and is the most common tree in the Australian Outback. It is sometimes hard to identify because it may grow as a bush or tree and its leaves may be 1 to 2 mm thin and cylindrical or up to 1 cm wide and flat with longitudinal veins.

Mulga and the Aboriginal diet

Mulga trees contributed to the Aboriginal diet in the outback in several ways:

• Wattleseeds: The seeds of mulga trees were ground to make bread, nowadays they are mainly used as a spice.
• Mulga apple: Certain wasp larvae produce galls on mulga trees. They have a sweet taste reminding of dried apples and were popular as a snack while out in the bush.
• Honey ants: Nests of this ant species are often found between the roots of mulga trees. Their honey is extremely popular and is dug out by Aborigine women with long metal bars.
• Honeydew: Mulgas are often attacked by insects that produce honeydew in large amounts. Aborigines broke off branches to suck the honeydew directly from the wood.
• Mistletoes: At least three mistletoe varieties occur on mulgas. Their fruit were eaten by Aborigines.