Faradaya splendida

F. Muell.

October glory, Potato Vine

LamiaceaeFruitSeeds/NutsPotential hazards — see below

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(c) Evert Materman, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

iNaturalist · cc-by-nc
(c) cesdamess, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

What to Eat

Edible parts: Fruit, Seeds

The fruit are eaten fresh. The seeds inside the berries are also edible.

Known Hazards

Oxera splendida is grown as a decorative plant in gardens. Its flowers are attractive and have a pleasant fragrance. When provided with plenty of sunlight and water, the vine is hardy and grows vigorously. For the Australian Aboriginal Girramay clan, the Djungeen vine is one of the plants that provides a seasonal indicator to them — when the fruit falls to the ground in October, bush turkey nests will have eggs in them. Another aboriginal use is to poison fish. The outer bark is removed and the middle layer of the bark is scraped off, then rubbed onto a hot stone. When the stone is thrown into a creek or small lagoon, all marine animals in the water are poisoned and death occurs within an hour. A sapotoxin is found in the leaves, stems and roots of the plant which is an effective fish poison. It will readily dissolve in water and is effective even in low concentrations.

Where to Find It

A tropical plant. It can grow in the subtropics. It does best in rich moist soils. The soils need to be well drained. It needs a protected partly shaded position. It is damaged by drought and frost. It grows naturally in the lowland and upland rainforest. In tropical Queensland it grows from sea level to 1000 m altitude.

Australia*, India, Indonesia, Pacific, Papua New Guinea, PNG, SE Asia, Singapore,

Countries: Australia, Brunei, Fiji, Micronesia, Indonesia, India, Cambodia, Kiribati, Laos, Marshall Islands, Myanmar, Malaysia, Nauru, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Palau, Solomon Islands, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vietnam, Vanuatu, Samoa

How to Identify

It is an evergreen climbing vine. It climbs to a height of 15 m. The stem is vigorous. The leaves are light green and glossy. They are oval or narrowly heart shaped. They are 10-40 cm long and 6-8 cm wide. The leaf stalks are 2-5 cm long. The leaves are fairly thin textured with glands at the base of the leaf blade. The flowers are white. They have 4 lobes and are cup shaped. They are 5 cm across. The occur in clusters at the ends of branches. The flowers have a scent. The fruit are cream coloured oval berries. They are 9 cm long by 6 cm across. They are edible. The white flesh of the fruit turns yellow when squashed. There is one seed inside. The seed is 4.5 cm long by 3.5 cm wide.

How to Grow

Plants can be grown from seed or by cuttings. Seed should be sown fresh. They germinate readily.

Medicinal Uses

The fruit and seeds are traditionally consumed as food.

Production

Fruit are produced August to April in Australia.

Names & Synonyms

Buku, Bunga faradaya, Mumini, Pitutu

Faradaya albertisii F. Muell.Faradaya papuana Scheff.

References (20)

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