CAT-00142
Emu apple
Owenia acidula
Catalog fields
- Genus
- Owenia
- Photo
- Not recorded
- Edible
- Yes
- layout
- double
- Habitat
- Usually in 200–550 mm rainfall areas on the plains, in grasslands of various types on various substrates, or thin woodlands.
- Published
- Yes
- Food group
- Fruit
- Latin name
- Owenia acidula
- Fruit photo
- Not recorded
- Plant title
- Emu apple
- Source URLs
- https://profiles.ala.org.au/opus/foa/profile/Owenia%20acidula | https://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?lvl=sp&name=Owenia~acidula&page=nswfl Open source ↗ Open source 2 ↗
- Catalogue ID
- CAT-00142
- Mature width
- Not confirmed; allow spread appropriate to growth habit
- Native range
- Semi-arid to subhumid regions of south tropical and subtropical eastern Australia, from central Northern Territory, through Queensland except northern Cape York, and S to eastern South Australia and Moree area, New South Wales, with an isolated record from Mardie Station, Western Australia.
- Plant family
- Meliaceae
- Supplier SKU
- Not recorded
- Listing group
- Regional / traditional food plant
- Mature height
- 3-10 m
- Native states
- NSW, NT, QLD, SA
- 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
- Published food use; preparation detail review pending
- Fruiting season
- Species-specific ripening period not yet confirmed.
- Background photo
- Not recorded
- Edible component
- Soft ripe fruit flesh
- Flowering season
- Species-specific flowering period not yet confirmed.
- Brief description
- Small inland tree with narrow divided leaves and drooping branches.
- Drought tolerance
- High once established.
- Preparation notes
- Confirm species identification, the specified edible part, ripeness and species-specific preparation before use.
- Flower description
- Small cream flowers in branching clusters.
- General cultivation
- General guidance (qualitative): Promising dry-site trial in full sun with drainage.
- Botanical description
- Twiggy shrub or tree 1.5–10 m high, sometimes suckering, with bole to 20 cm diam. and wide crown; bark deeply cracked; leafy shoots 4–7 mm diam., covered with resin. Leaves c. 12–20 cm long, usually 7–17-jugate; petiole 1–3 cm long; rachis often winged. Leaflets opposite, narrowly elliptic to linear-lanceolate, 10–50 mm long, 3–8 (–14) mm wide, asymmetric and cuneate at base, acute to obtuse and mucronate at apex, glabrous, with scattered resin-dots; veins raised abaxially. Thyrses c. 6–12 cm long. Sepals suborbicular, c. 2 mm long. Petals oblong-lanceolate, 4 mm long, creamy to brownish. Drupe 2–3.5 cm diam., maroon, sometimes mottled.
- 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/Owenia%20acidula Open source ↗
- Fruit type and description
- Sour fleshy drupe surrounding a hard stone.
- Flora of Australia citation
- D.J. Mabberley. Owenia acidula. 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/Owenia%20acidula (accessed 2026-10-15). 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
- 15/10/2026