Are You Nuts!
Are You Nuts, A story about Bunya’s
Before I start, I wish to acknowledge theTraditional Owners of the Bunya Country on which we live, the Jinibarra andGubbi Gubbi / Kabi Kabi peoples. Bunya have been farmed and managed formillennia, they were and still very much are an important and scared source offood and culture. and we are lucky to have had this knowledge shared with us -thank you. Eating Bunyas is best with family and friends, a communal activityin which we can connect with and share the bounty of this land.
I personally rejoice when the Bunya conesstart to fall, I don’t rejoice so much that the nuts are falling, but more thatthey are landing and available to harvest! You certainly don’t want to be under them when they are falling or forthat matter waiting to catch them - as they can weigh up to 10kg!
The Bunya Tree (Araucaria bidwillii) is one of the truly ancient members of ourlocal forests. They hark back to the age of dinosaurs and were once widespreadacross the Australian and are part of the Araucariaceae family, that stillsurvive across many of the southern land masses and include Hoop Pines, NorfolkPines and Monkey Puzzle Pine. These days Bunya Pine occurs naturally in onetiny patch of north Queensland and more locally as scattered populationsbetween the Sunshine Coast and Kingaroy (Bunya Mountains). Not only are thesetrees ancient, but quite exclusive about where they live – so we are lucky toshare their neighbourhood with them!
These delicious nuts are a great bonus toour diet. The simplest way to cook Bunya Nuts is to boil for twenty minutes,then let them cool down enough to handle. The husk on each individual nut isquite tough and requires a sharp knife and an equally sharp operator. Once youget the knack, you’ll get a taste for bunya that’s hard to keep up with yourcutting abilities (Instead of a knife we use a polypipe cutter which for a fewdollars is a great investment in saving your fingers).
Bunya Trees are relatively easy to grow.The starchy Bunya nut sends a root deep into the ground where it forms a thicktap root (like a radish) from which the tree shoots. They are a little bit slowto start off with but once they get going can grow a metre or two per year andcan be fruiting at 12-15 years - just don’t plant them near your garage, shed,water tank, house etc. for what I hope are obvious reasons… Plant Bunyas nowfor future generations food and of course so that we will continue to be a homefor Bunya’s for millennia to come!
