CAT-00002
Midgen berry
Austromyrtus dulcis
Catalog fields
- Genus
- Austromyrtus
- Photo
- Not recorded
- Edible
- Yes
- layout
- full
- Habitat
- Coastal, in heath, scrub, open forest, dry sclerophyll forest, sometimes rainforest margins, usually in sandy soils.
- Published
- Yes
- Food group
- Fruit
- Latin name
- Austromyrtus dulcis
- Fruit photo
- Not recorded
- Plant title
- Midgen berry
- Source URLs
- https://profiles.ala.org.au/opus/foa/profile/Austromyrtus%20dulcis | https://www.anbg.gov.au/gnp/gnp12/austromyrtus-dulcis.html | https://www.anbg.gov.au/gardens/whatson/growing_friends/plantlist-april2012.pdf Open source ↗ Open source 2 ↗ Open source 3 ↗
- Catalogue ID
- CAT-00002
- Mature width
- About 1-1.4 m
- Native range
- Mostly coastal from Fraser Island (K'gari), Queensland, south to near Nambucca Heads, New South Wales.
- Plant family
- Myrtaceae
- Supplier SKU
- AUSDUL
- Listing group
- Original garden variety
- Mature height
- Usually 0.4-1 m; to 2 m wild
- Native states
- NSW, QLD
- Original list
- Yes
- Research date
- 10/10/2026
- Research notes
- Size varies with site/shade; fruiting is broad regional guidance. Seasons vary with climate, location, cultivar and plant maturity.
- Evidence status
- Nursery food-use source; preparation detail review pending
- Fruiting season
- Usually late summer-autumn; timing varies by growing region
- Background photo
- Not recorded
- Edible component
- Fleshy berries
- Flowering season
- Spring-summer
- Brief description
- Spreading shrub; tiny glossy leaves; copper new growth; white flowers.
- Drought tolerance
- Low-moderate; maintain moisture during dry spells.
- Preparation notes
- Confirm species identification, the specified edible part, ripeness and species-specific preparation before use.
- Flower description
- Small white, star-like flowers.
- General cultivation
- General guidance (qualitative): Sun-part shade; moist freely draining soil; mulch; shelter from severe frost.
- Botanical description
- Spreading often semi-prostrate shrub 0.2–1.5 m high. Leaf blades narrowly elliptic or narrowly ovate to lanceolate, sometimes slightly falcate, 10–30 (–38) mm long, (3–) 7–10 (–13) mm wide, tip mucronate, oil glands common above, lateral and intramarginal veins below obscured by hairs. Bracteoles 1.5–3.3 mm long. Hypanthium 1.5–2 mm long. Sepal lobes sparsely silky to tomentose above, silky below, especially on margins. Petals widely ovate to widely obovate, 2.5–4 mm long, 3–4 mm wide, white. Staminal disk short-villous; ovary apex densely short-hairy. Fruit 4–9 mm long, 3.8–10 mm wide, white to greyish with small dark spots, glabrous to densely silky; seeds 1–2 (–7).
- Other botanical names
- Not recorded
- Attracts birds and bugs
- Fruit-eating birds; native bees and flower-visiting insects pollinate small white flowers.
- Flora of Australia profile
- https://profiles.ala.org.au/opus/foa/profile/Austromyrtus%20dulcis Open source ↗
- Fruit type and description
- Sweet white berries with blue-black speckles and several seeds.
- Flora of Australia citation
- N. Snow, P.G. Kodela. Austromyrtus dulcis. Flora of Australia, Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, Canberra. https://profiles.ala.org.au/opus/foa/profile/Austromyrtus%20dulcis (accessed 2026-10-14). Copyright Commonwealth of Australia; CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). HTML formatting removed; species-level context added where noted. Open source ↗ Open source 2 ↗
- Flora of Australia retrieved
- 14/10/2026