Nitre Bush

Images ©:
©Nitraria billardierei Chris Lindorff CC2.5, Nitraria billardierei Richard Hartland CC-BY, Nitraria billardierei Chris Lindorff CC2.5

Nitraria billardierei

Stiff tangled shrub to 2 m high and up to 4 m wide, occasionally spiny. Clustered, narrow-leaves with smooth edges and pointed tips.Ã_Ã_Velvety white flowers with five or six petals with long obvious yellow-tipped stamens. Fruit a purple, red or golden berry when mature.

Details
Flora Type
Shrubs
Former Scientific Name
Nitraria billardieri, Nitraria schoberi
Other Common Names
Native Grape
Distinctive Features

Male and female flowers on the one plant.
Biology

Perennial. Grows on saline areas on loamy or clayey soils, inland districts. Drought-resistant. Not particularly palatable to stock, often dominating in overgrazed areas.
Native Status
Native
Taxonomy
Phylum
Tracheophyta (Vascular Plants)
Class
Magnoliopsida (Flowering Plants)
Order
Sapindales
Family
Nitrariaceae
Genus
Nitraria
Species
billardierei

Source: Atlas of Living Australia

The ripe fruits are edible and are distributed by emus and other birds.Ã_They are a food source for Aboriginal people.

Interesting Facts
Similar Species

0
Native Status
Native