mulga

The Mulga tree (Acacia aneura) is a the most common tree in Central Australia, and is as emblematic of the country as the gum leaf is in other parts of the continent. A large shrub or small tree 2-12m high, the Mulga flowers opportunistically at any time after good rain, with best seed production occuring when an autumn flowering is followed by a winter rain. Mulga scrub occurs throughout many of the drier areas of Australia on flat red earth plains, often in thick stands, but is also found on hillsides, between dunes and as scattered trees in most habitats.

Traditionally, Mulga has been very important for indigenous Central Australians as a food source, fuel source and as the raw material for many tools and artefacts. All Central Australian aboriginal groups performed increase ceremonies to ensure supply of the various foods associated with this tree.

Until relatively recently, mulga seed was an important plant food throughout Central Australia, not only because Mulga is the most common tree in the region, but also because its opportunistic flowering pattern meant that it was possible to find a few trees bearing pods almost anywhere for many months of the year, even in dry times. After cleaning, the hard-coated seeds were roasted and then ground into a paste similar in taste and texture to peanut butter, but much more nutritious. Several other foods are associated with the mulga tree, including mulga apples (a marbleshaped swelling or gall containing the larva of a wasp), honey dew (from a kind of lerp scale), and honey ants which are found in the ground under the tree.

Mulga was also important as a timber for fuel and making implements. Dead Mulga trees are a preferred source of firewood in Central Australia. The dense wood burns relatively quickly, but produces good heat. It is also very easy to collect and break up without tools, as all but the largest dead trees can be manually uprooted and the decayed wood shatters and breaks up easily. Mulga dries to a dark-grained, hard and strong wood which rarely splits, and can be further hardened using fire. It was the most important source of wood for making implements for all Central Australian indigenous groups, beinf used for shields, boomerangs, woomeras, digging sticks, fighting spears and clubs, hunting spear heads, adzes, and tjuringas (sacred objects).

As a hardy drought-resistant indigenous tree with many useful qualities, Mulga is a good candidate for a windbreak species around outback communities. Such windbreaks could simultaneously improve air quality (dust reduction), provide quality wood for fuel and timberwork, provide a nutritious foodstuff, and provide a host environment for other valuable plants such as the quandong. These days, indigenous Australians don't actually consume much Mulga seed in the traditional manner, but there is growing general interest in Australia and beyond in "bush foods" including Acacia seed.

Michael Hall
October 2007