Quandong Nut

Quandong nuts are the hard-shelled kernels found inside the stone of the desert quandong, an evergreen, hemiparasitic tree in the sandalwood family native to the arid interior and southern regions of Australia. Aboriginal Australians have long eaten both the tart flesh of the quandong fruit and the kernel inside its stone, traditionally roasting the kernel first, since raw kernels carry a natural toxin that breaks down with roasting and appears to lessen further as the kernel ages. Roasted quandong kernels are eaten directly or ground into a paste, and the same paste has traditionally been applied to sore gums for its numbing effect, making the quandong one of the most valued food and medicine plants of Australia's arid zone.