Australian Bush Tucker Bites presents Native Hibiscus (Hibiscus heterophyllus).
This lovely Australian native grows along the East Coast. Flowers are generally white in the South and yellow in the North. The flowers only last one day, but they are stunning, wafer-thin and delicate, but tough enough to blow around in a strong wind.
Historical and Modern uses include:
*petals — tea, salads
*buds — jams, salads, boiled
*whole flowers — stuffed and baked
*bark and fibrous stems — bowstrings, dilly bags, twine, hunting nets, rope
*medicinal use — despite various sources specifying medicinal use, I have found no details as yet.
As with any edible plant, there is cause for caution, though. This species is not recommended for consumption by people with kidney conditions. This recommendation is based on a single case publicised in the mid-1990s and reinforced by the lore of Indigenous Australians who mainly used it medicinally.
