Winter Apple

Description:

Eremophila debilis, commonly known as "winter apple" or "amulla", is a flowering plant in the figwort family Scrophulariaceae, and is endemic to an area extending from north Queensland to near the border between New South Wales and Victoria in Australia. It is a prostrate shrub with lance-shaped leaves and white, rarely deep mauve flowers. This species is also a bush tucker plant. Flowering occurs in spring to summer with red to purple succulent mature fruit (drupes) developing in February - March. The bitter fruits were eaten by Aboriginal people. Eremophila debilis is widespread in eastern Queensland and New South Wales in a wide range of soils and vegetation associations, often in box and white cypress communities, sometimes forming dense mats. PS: In the indigenous Ugarapul language, this plant is known as "Gundullum".

Habitat:

Spotted at Purga Nature Reserve, Ipswich SEQ. Surrounding area cleared farmland, this region is freshening up with rain after a prolonged drought. This is usually a wetland area that is periodically waterlogged during wet periods. https://www.ipswich.qld.gov.au/__data/as... According to Ipswich Council, this small reserve constitutes "the largest protected area of endangered Swamp Tea-tree forest in the world."