Macrozamia spp. — Edible Plant Database

What to Eat

Edible parts: Seed, Stem

Parts of the plant are used for food and material but are toxic if untreated. The raw seed is toxic and requires treatment prior to eating it. With Macrozamia communis (Burrawang) the sea kernals can be eaten after processing. Aged seeds have a distinctive flavor reminiscent of mild cheese - ground into flower for cakes. Leached kernals eaten raw, wrapped in paperbark and baked, or made into bread. Macrozamia denisonii (Burrawang) stems are asource of edible starch. Macrozamia miquelii - Seed - cooked. The raw seed is toxic and needs to be treated to make it edible. The Australian Aborigines would do this by several methods - one involved cooking the seed in ashes, another involved soaking the seeds in water for several days, then pounding them.The seeds were made fit to eat by a laborious process of cracking, soaking, grinding and baking. Old, shrivelled seeds are said to be edible raw.

Known Hazards

Where to Find It

Origin: Australia. All of which are endemic to Australia.

Coming Soon

How to Identify

Macrozamia spp. is an evergreen Perennial growing to 2 m (6ft) by 2 m (6ft) at a slow rate. See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 10. Suitable for: light (sandy) and medium (loamy) soils and prefers well-drained soil. Suitable pH: mildly acid, neutral and basic (mildly alkaline) soils. It can grow in full shade (deep woodland) semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It prefers dry moist or wet soil.

How to Grow

Hypothetical Crop Industrial Crop: Starch Management: Standard. Climate: warm temperate to tropical. Humidity: arid to humid. Dioecious palmlike shrubs. Several species were important food sources for Australian Aborigines, after extensive processing to remove toxins. The more abundant species have also been recorded as livestock poisons. Most species have at some time gone under the common name of Burrawang. Carbon Farming Solutions - Cultivation: hypothetical. Management: standard (Describes the non-destructive management systems that are used in cultivation).

Propagation: Seed - it is easy to germinate from fresh seed, though it might take 2 years to do so.

Other Uses

Carbon Farming Solutions - Industrial Crop: starch (Crops grown for non-food uses. Industrial crops provide resources in three main categories: materials, chemicals, and energy. Traditional materials include lumber and thatch, paper and cardboard, and textiles). Genera to investigate include: Cycas, Dioon, Encephalartos, Macrozamia, Microcycas, and Zamia. Nearly all cycads fix low amounts of nitrogen. Ornamental -

Names & Synonyms

Burrawang, Macrozamia species, Macrozamia SPP, Burrawang species.

Many. See individual species.