Traversing Tidbillaga

A foraging expedition to the Snowy Mountains.

The summertime Australian Alps and the origin of the Snowy River as seen from Charlotte’s Pass (1,850 m). Mt. Kosciuszko (2,228 m) is the second peak from the left, background; Mt. Clarke centre (2,100 m); Mt. Lee (2,105 m) right with lingering frost hollow snow. © JPM, 2023.

When compared to the other continents, Australia is relatively flat. Even our much smaller island neighbour across the ditch, New Zealand, has more significant alpine regions (especially their south island) than the sunburnt continent. Australia’s most significant mountain range runs the length of its eastern coast, the Great Dividing Range, so called as it divides the highly populated and well-watered eastern coastal region from the mostly dry, flat foehn plains of the interior. The tallest of the mountains of the Great Dividing Range occur in southern New South Wales, near the border with Victoria. Our continental zenith is the 2,228 metre (7,310 ft) Mt. Kosciuszko (or Kunama Namadji in the local Ngarigo language, although this name is disputed by the various tribes who frequented the region), so named by explorer Pawel Strzelecki in 1840 supposedly because its pinnacle slopes reminded him of the Kosciuszko Mound in Kraków.

The Australian Alps have a long and rich bush food history. Prior to European settlement, the mountains were a beacon for aboriginal alpine ceremony, especially targangil, feasting on the summer-hibernating bogong moths (Agrotis infusa). As the bogongs are now an endangered species in decline, they were of no interest in this foraging journey. The alpine region is, fortunately, home to an interesting variety of plant-based bush tucker. Native tribes believed that alpine plants had special spiritual qualities, thus were eagerly sought out during spring and summer after the melt, harvested and returned to camps at lower elevations primarily for use as medicines. A variety of common edible European weeds now populate the mountains in the spring, adding to the existing bounty, as did the introduction of brown and rainbow trout to the regional tributaries and lakes.

Without further ado, let’s see what I found!

Wild olives (Olea species), escapees from European endeavours, can occasionally be found in the wild. These were in flower; no olives yet! © JPM, 2023.

Sword sedge (Leipidosperma species) can be found around the country. The white leaf bases are edible and taste like snow peas with a nutty aftertaste. They are closely related to lomandra, which can be used in the same way. © JPM, 2023.

Curled dock (Rumex crispus) is a common weed of Australia's agricultural areas. The greens add a sour tang to dishes and should always be cooked before use; the seeds may also be ground up and added to breads. © JPM, 2023.

Wild radish (Raphanus species) is common throughout Australian agricultural regions. The leaves, seeds and root are hot like mustard/wasabi; the flowers are pleasant and the best part added to salads. © JPM, 2023.

Smartweed or Lady's thumb (Persicaria species or Polygonum species) has a distinctive chevron on the leaf. A fairly common weed, they can be mild or peppery. The former is good raw in salad; the latter cooked. Note that the 'smart' part of smartweed refers not to intelligence but its ability to sting the eyes with its peppery volatiles! © JPM, 2023.

Mallow (Malva species) is another common weed that is oft overlooked in modernity. It makes a superb spinach substitute and the roots can be diced small, decocted with boiling water and then whisked with egg whites and a sweetener to produce the original marshmallow. © JPM, 2023.

I found even mouse-ear chickweed (Cerastium vulgare) up in the subalpine zone! One even had a pink flower! Chickweed is a great salad plant. Eaten raw it tastes like corn silk. © JPM, 2023.

Red dogwood (Cornus stolonifera) was growing in a cultivated garden at one of our overnight stays. Some dogwoods, according to expert American forager 'Green' Deane Jordan, have edible berries, but some species are toxic. These berries were flavourless. © JPM, 2023.

Wood sorrel (Oxalis species), also known as sour sop and sour grass, is easily confused with clover (Trifolium species). The giveaways are the 5-petalled flower (usually yellow or pink) and the sour taste to the foliage. Some species, such as the Incan yam (Oxalis tuberosa, common in New Zealand as well), acquire sizeable and edible tubers in the winter. © JPM, 2023.

Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) is one of the faithful forage plants one may find anywhere in the world except Antarctica! The whole plant is edible but bitter. © JPM, 2023.

At first I thought it was just another wild radish, but on closer inspection the exact identity of this unidentifed mustard green eluded me! The flavour was mild, but the four-petalled flowers certainly betray this plant as a member of the Brassicas. It would have gone wonderfully in a raw greens salad; some wild mustards are very hot, mind! © JPM, 2023.

Common sheep sorrel (Acetosella vulgaris) can be eaten much the same way as dock (Rumex species) and wood sorrel (Oxalis species) to add sour to dishes when lemon is lacking. © JPM, 2023.

Native geraniums (Geranium species) tend to get a bad rap, perhaps for good reason. They are famine fare: every part of the plant is usually too bitter to eat, but the taproots, like dandelion, can supply life-saving starch and carbs in an emergency survival situation. © JPM, 2023.

Native raspberry (Rubus parvifolius) made an appearance near Yarrangobilly Caves. Sadly too early in the season for fruit! © JPM, 2023.

Blueberry lily (Dianella species) were just on the verge of hitting peak season during our visit. There are a lot of these in the moranes and forest regions, but they will not be found in the subalpine or alpine mountains. Berries turn blue-purple when ripe, similar to the colour of the flower petals. Southern species (D. tasmanica) tend to be unpleasant to eat - you will know if you taste it! © JPM, 2023.

Most of my expeditions feature spike rush (Lomandra species), because it is truly one of the east-coast's prolific forage plants. Like the previously mentioned sword rush, leaf bases make a pleasant, pea-flavoured snack food. Male flowers (right) have a nutty, sweet flavour and make a very pleasing tea. The extremely tough seeds of female plants (not pictured) may also be ground into a tasty flour. © JPM, 2023.

Whilst driving some back roads between Dalgety and Beloka, salsify (Tragopogon porrifolius) was prolific in every roadside ditch. Like, thousands of them! When they have the giant puff-ball seed heads they are too far gone, but I will remember this place for a future early spring visit to collect the delicious parsnip-like taproots of these neglected weeds. © JPM, 2023.

Spiny sow thistle (Sonchus asper) was found at Yarrangobilly Caves. It was extremely bitter due to already having pressed on to flowering. Sow thistle is best harvested young, before the flower stems start shooting up, and can be eaten raw in salads or cooked as greens. © JPM, 2023.

On approach to our Yarrangobilly tour cave, I couldn't help but smile at this happy little fellow waiting to greet us. Whilst I do not have the exact identity at this time (probably Bulbine bulbosa), it was lilies like these that betrayed their edible tubers' location with springtime blooms. Tuberous lilies like these have been mostly annihilated from pasture by sheep, cattle and rabbits, existing only in pockets of national park where they cannot be harvested without a permit. © JPM, 2023.

Flowering late on the mountains, this giant grevillea (Grevillea robusta) stood in a proud show of its delectable, nectar-bearing flowers. On a continent with only a handful of natural sweets, flowers like these were a staple dessert of the First Nations peoples and can still be dipped in water and the resulting honey-like drink enjoyed, after filtering out the ants and bugs! © JPM, 2023.

The final stop on our tour was the rural town of Young and its famous cherry district. While not native by any means, cherries (especially the sweet Prunus avium) are my wife's favourite fruit and no tour in early December is complete without picking some from our favourite orchards, supporting local farmers at the gate. Cruising some back roads near the town of Wombat may reward the stalwart forager with some free samples, albeit they are usually the wild, sour cherry (Prunus cerasus) type like these. © JPM, 2023.

In addition to the edible forage mentioned above are many plants with appreciable medicinal qualities. Here are some of the more important ones discovered on this trek:

Purple eye-bright (Euphrasia collina) was once widely used by European pastoralists for its eye-healing properties. © JPM, 2023.

Bidgee widgee (Acaena novae-zelandiae in the alpine region), while annoying with its sock-sticking burrs, made a fine colonists tea when imports from England were slow to arrive. I enjoyed several cups of it on the crisp summer evenings in Jindabyne. The plant (Acaena anserinifolia) also occurs near beaches and coastlines, especially in Victoria and Tasmania. © JPM, 2023.

Snow gums (Eucalyptus pauciflora) are the only Australian tree able to survive the alpine zone to 2,000 metres. Often gnarly, windswept and oozing slowly over granite boulders like dendritic lava, snow gums do exude the characteristic kino (gum) which had application in tanning kangaroo/wallaby skins, as fillings for cavities and antiseptic gargles and washes for other topical infections. Not for internal use! © JPM, 2023.

Mullein (Verbascum species) is a foreign weed that is easily identified for its soft, woolly foliage and tall (often 1.8m tall) flower spikes. Mullein leaves are traditionally used as a tea/decoction in western herbalism to ease respiratory complaints like asthma and dry coughs. © JPM, 2023.

Yarrow (Achillea millefolium) is another introduced herbal weed that thrives in the Australian Alps. Its foliage is fern-like and is possible to confuse with the deadly poison hemlock (Conium maculatum). Yarrow is an incredible at staunching bleeding: crush or chew a leaf and apply to the wound and blood will almost immediately coagulate and clot. © JPM, 2023.

Last but not least, the reams of alpine flower pron. I gave up trying to identify them! I really need some specialist books on Australia’s wildflowers! Some of the plants are common introduced weeds but their flowers are pretty nonetheless.

Chorizema species, left; Craspedia species, centre; Goodenia? species, right. © JPM, 2024

Nematolepsis ovatifolia, left; Celmisia asteliifolia, centre; Brachyscome nivalis, right. © JPM, 2024.

Unidentified, left; Some kind of unidentified mint or lavender, centre; lupin (Lupinus polyphyllus), an introduced weed, right. © JPM, 2023.

Candle heath (Richea continentis), sadly too early to see their stunning flowers. © JPM, 2023.

Some more unidentifieds, although centre is possibly carpet heath (Pentachondra pumila). © JPM, 2023.

And more (I think the top-right one is some kind of Hakea). © JPM, 2023.

And more! The flower on the left was both my wife and my favourite of the trip. It was so crisp and glossy! © JPM, 2023.

A tiny flower from a near invisible plant! © JPM, 2024.

Not photographed on this trip were various edible alpine heaths (for example, Leucopogon suaveolens and Astroloma humifusum) or alpine celery (Aciphylla glacialis), all items of top alpine tucker still eagerly sought out by the First Nations people attending ceremonial duties in their traditional alpine lands today. I searched for but still did not find the elusive alpine yam daisy (Microseris lanceolata), once a major staple tuber but now mostly annihilated by rabbits, cattle and sheep, as are many of the other tuberous lilies and ground orchids that were once a key component of the native diet. Mountain plum pine (Podocarpus lawrencei) also occurs across the Australian Alps, but there is some caution as to the edibility of its swollen arils and I did not find any on this particular journey in any case.

I also did not partake of any fly fishing for introduced European brown and rainbow trout which can be caught in the pristine tributaries of the Snowy River. The primary traditional sources of protein are kangaroo, wallaby, possum and various lizards, mostly hunted in the montane areas rather than the sub-alpine or alpine parts of the Snowy Mountains. Nowadays feral rabbits are a dime a dozen; their burrows litter the hills and valleys right up to the alpine zone, especially in summer. Who cares about the snow and skiing, anyway! All the food appears in summer and that’s what Bush Food Forager is all about!

I shall close with a few choice snaps of Jillabenan Cave, one of the show caves at Yarrangobilly. It is worth the visit if you ever plan a trip up to Australia’s Snowy Mountains, even though there isn’t much to eat in a limestone cave. But there is a thermal springwater pool which is a very fun swim, even in winter!

I will be undertaking far fewer expeditions this year (all my annual leave is slated for October-November only), so hopefully I will have some time over the coming months to churn out more detailed content on individual bush tucker items not yet part of my slowly growing archive. And I’ve found some doozies so far in 2024!

As always, thanks for reading the Bush Food Forager and accompanying me in this hobby of mine.

Cheers,

JP.