CAT-00046
Wild currant
Antidesma erostre
No main photo selected
Catalog fields
- Genus
- Antidesma
- Photo
- Not recorded
- Edible
- Yes
- layout
- single
- Habitat
- Grows in notophyll vineforest on a variety of substrates. The fruit are eaten by Cassowaries and Spotted Cat-birds (Cooper & Cooper 2004: 172).
- Published
- Yes
- Food group
- Fruit
- Latin name
- Antidesma erostre
- Fruit photo
- Not recorded
- Plant title
- Wild currant
- Source URLs
- https://profiles.ala.org.au/opus/foa/profile/Antidesma%20erostre | https://tuckerbush.com.au/wild-currant-antidesma-erostre/; https://apps.lucidcentral.org/rainforest/text/entities/antidesma_erostre.htm Open source ↗ Open source 2 ↗ Open source 3 ↗
- Catalogue ID
- CAT-00046
- Mature width
- 2m
- Native range
- Occurs in central and northeastern Queensland.
- Plant family
- Phyllanthaceae
- Supplier SKU
- Not recorded
- Listing group
- Nursery-listed / regional edible
- Mature height
- 2-4m
- Native states
- QLD
- Original list
- No
- Research date
- 10/10/2026
- Research notes
- Profile enriched from botanical/nursery sources. Dimensions are unpruned regional estimates where available; missing measurements remain explicit. Seasons are regional guides and vary with climate, location, cultivar and plant maturity. Drought and cultivation guidance are qualitative garden inferences, not measured ratings.
- Evidence status
- Nursery food-use source; preparation detail review pending
- Fruiting season
- Late summer reported by nursery.
- Background photo
- Not recorded
- Edible component
- Ripe fruit
- Flowering season
- Species-specific flowering period not yet confirmed.
- Brief description
- Bushy tropical shrub with edible dark fruit.
- Drought tolerance
- Low to moderate; maintain moisture.
- Preparation notes
- Use fully ripe dark berries fresh or in preserves; confirm plant identity.
- Flower description
- Minute flowers in slender clusters; male and female flowers on separate plants.
- General cultivation
- General guidance (qualitative): Trial frost-free shelter; male and female plants may be needed.
- Botanical description
- Shrub or small tree to 20 m high, evergreen. Stipules linear-subulate, 0.5–2 mm long. Leaves: petiole 2–7 mm long; lamina elliptic, lanceolate-elliptic, cuneate-obovate, 37–150 long, 18–60 mm wide, base cuneate, margin entire or weakly sinuate, tip acute, acuminate, lateral veins 9–12. Male flowers 1.5–3 mm long; calyx cupular, 0.7–0.8 mm long; disc glabrous or with scattered hairs; stamens 4–6. Female flowers 1.5–2 mm long; pedicels 0.5–3 mm long; calyx 5-lobed cupular, 0.7–1.2 mm long, 0.7 mm diam.; disc annular, glabrous; styles 3, recurved, terminal, 0.5–0.7 mm long. Fruit flattened-ellipsoid, purple-black to purple-red, 5–8 mm long, 3–7 mm diam.
- Other botanical names
- Not recorded
- Attracts birds and bugs
- Native bees and insects visit flowers; canopy shelters birds.
- Flora of Australia profile
- https://profiles.ala.org.au/opus/foa/profile/Antidesma%20erostre Open source ↗
- Fruit type and description
- Dark red to black berries in clusters; acidic pulp.
- Flora of Australia citation
- Paul I. Forster. Antidesma erostre. 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/Antidesma%20erostre (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