Boobiala (Myoporum insulare)

Common name: Boobiala, Native Juniper, Blueberry Tree

Taxonomic name: Myoporum insulare

Family: Scrophulariacea

Habitat: Coast, lots of sand

Form: Prostrate to small tree up to 6 metres

Flowering Time: Late Winter to Spring

Ngarrindjeri name: Karangki

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Description

Note: It’s illegal to collect the fruit in some parts of Australia, but not down this way.

Boobiala (Myoporum insulare) shows its flowers from roughly August to October. The flowers have 5 petals and are white with purple spots. They grow, on short stems, in the angle where leaf and stem meet. These flowers become fleshy, purple berries. It has thick, fleshy leaves with a vein in the middle and a few teeth. It is a coastal plant, loving sandy areas such as dunes. It has thick, smooth leaves  and grows to about 6 metres.

Uses

Boobiala (Myoporum insulare) has masses of astringent purple berries in Summer. I know a place where there’s over a kilometre of then, unbroken, along a roadside, all in fruit at once, at the right time of year. The berries are quite astringent and can be quite bitter or even salty. They remind me of turpentine, but some folks love them and I’m looking forward to a jam made from them this year.

Another name for this tree is ‘Native Juniper’, as the taste of the berries is reminiscent of that of Juniper. Because of this, they are being used to make Australian Gin by some enterprising folks. There is also some talk of an essential oil being made from the berries because of their bitter oil content.

If I’m out foraging and feel a sniffle coming on and there’s no Black Anther Flax Lily around, I’ll try for a handful of Boobiala berries if the time of year is right. There’s no history of this that I’ve been told, just tried it myself once and it worked, so I do it every time now.