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Quinine Bush Bitter Bark Petalostigma Pubescens Seeds
Packet of 15+ freshly harvested seeds!
Very common local shrub with an abundance of traditional uses and common names. Called Quinine berry, Quinine tree, Bitter Bark, Downy Cracker Bush, Forest Quinine, Red hearted Forest Quinine, Strychnine Tree, Wild Quinine and even Native Quince.
Used after being specially prepared by Aboriginal women as a form of birth control, and also as a treatment for fever and malarial symptoms. A simple tea was made by soaking one ripe fruit in a cup of hot water and sipping it slowly to lower to relieve fever and pain.
Crushed in the water it stuns and eventually kills fish, and the ripe fruits astringent nature when sucked or gently chewed cause tightening of the gums and numbness, and were apparently used this way to relieve toothache. The natural antiseptic qualities of the plant mean it is good as a disinfectant for wounds, and a very weak solution was used as an eye wash.
Attractive little tree with bright orange fruits that dry, shed their flesh then explode, shooting the seeds in all directions.
Very cool, to see and hear.
I found this really interesting study online that says there is no actual quinine in quinine berry, but there is massive amounts of Shikimic acid instead.
“Infact, shikimic acid was isolated in yields of 12-16%! This represents the greatest concentration of Shikimic acid recorded for any plant. The high concentration of Shikimic acid is of interest as a world shortage Shikimic acid represents the bottleneck in the synthesis of the anti-viral drug Tamiflu. Therefore Petalostigma pubescens could represent an economic crop for the production of Shikimic acid.”
That’s about it folks.
Locally wild harvested sustainably, no chems, no nasties, no problems!!!
