A caution for our Indigenous readers. These pages contain the names of friends and Elders who are deceased.
Advice on herbalism and foraging in these pages and throughout our website is from a kitchen herbalist’s perspective and isn’t intended to replace medical diagnosis and recommendations. It is provided to enhance and encourage your own efforts to provide for your family and maybe add a little different perspective to your studies. Everything here is from my own personal study and experiences of using herbs and making remedies for my family and friends. This website is as much a diary of my own progress and learning as it is anything else, so, as I study to become qualified, I may change things a little here and there to reflect my growing knowledge and skills. There are reference pages on the website for all of the sources of information I have used in preparing this site in an organised manner.
If you are sick in any way for more than a couple of days, don’t hesitate to see a doctor.
I’m indebted to Uncles Neville Gollan, George Trevorrow, Tom Trevorrow and Brother Bruce Trevorrow, who shared their knowledge freely on many a walk and chat around the campfire. They taught me how to look at the bush and all of its interconnections and to see that it isn’t just a collection of plants and animals or even ecosystems but a continuum extending through time. Sadly, those friends and mentors are all deceased now.
What I do know about the local plants from a Kaurna perspective was shared with me by Aunties Cherie Watkins and Veronica Brodie. Another great source of knowledge and inspiration has been our friend and ecologist extraordinaire Joan Gibbs, who taught me to see the bush more clearly.
To their knowledge, I can add to information that I’ve followed up on, academically, by looking at both old writings from explorers, priests, anthropologists and their ilk. The information on these pages remains a whitefella’s take on the plants covered. I can only touch on the perspective of our First Nations folks and lack the lifetime of connection that comes from being born of Country.
The Ngarrindjeri and Kaurna names included for some of the plants are by no means comprehensive, they’re just what I’ve learned in my excursions and from doing a little reading here and there. It goes without saying that such rich cultural groups have many, many other words and names for vital parts of their tradition and culture. Indigenous Australian languages aren’t static and fixed in the past and, as dynamic, living cultural entities, both languages are being revived and new words and names being created, so things may be updated here from time to time. I’ll certainly add more as I learn them.
Flowering times are approximate. Plants don’t take a lot of notice of calendars and the changes in our climate are mixing things up a bit. The times we’ve given are from our own experience. We’re always learning about our botanic community, taking new pics and meeting folks who know a lot more than we do, so keep checking your favourite plants on these pages. There’s always more to come!
Our ecosystems are increasingly fragile, especially since the huge bushfires last year, so I encourage only foraging, snacking and learning.
(updated 6/19/25 with new pics)
(updated 6/10/2025)
I am a self taught herbalist and forager, I currently have no formal qualifications in this field, just experience, observation and and private research skills.
These pages are more to inspire you to take up your own research and exploration and not are not intended to be
prescriptive – so I’ve got to include the caveat ”In the case of illness, see a licensed healer”.
If you’re finding this information useful, share it with your community
Note: It can be illegal to harvest from the wild without the appropriate permit or licence. Different councils, however, have different rules and regulations on the matter, so check with them before you go out.
Other herb pages on Ligaya Garden
We cover a lot of ground on many herb related topics here on our website. There are whole pages devoted to different topics as well as frequent posts. Some of the links are –
