Desert Quandong, Santalum acuminatum, also named Sweet Quandong and Native Peach is a small, hemiparasitic (partly parasitic), fruit bearing tree or large bush, 3-7 meters in height in the Sandalwood family.

Desert Quandong is a widely distributed plant the Quandong and its use as an exotic flavoring, one of the better-known bush foods, has contributed to the attempted domestication of the species.

Santalum acuminatum is a member of the Santalaceae family the genus Santalum and shares the common name quandong with other plants, bearing similar fruit. The Santalumgenus of plants is hemi-parasitic; able to photosynthesize. They attach themselves (root system) to other species, in a non-destructive way, nourishing themselves by their provision of nitrogen, shade, and water.

Leaves are 5-12cm long, ovate, pointed at the tip, pale yellow-green, and leathery, staged in opposite pairs. They are supported on a short leaf stalk, about 5 – 10 mm long. Flowers, 2-3 mm across, are fragrant, green or white on the outside, reddish or brown on the inside, born in clusters.

Fruit of the Desert Quandong is an edible, globe shaped drupe, measuring 20-40 mm across, red and occasionally yellow in color, when mature, with a waxy skin. A 3 mm layer of flesh covers a brain-like shaped nut with a hard shell that cases the seed.

The fruit and nut was an significant food source, to the lives of aborigines of arid and semi-arid central Australia. It is commercially grown and commercialized as a bush food and is occasionally made into a jam and chutney. It is well known as an exotic food. The flavour is reminiscent of peach, apricot or rhubarb. Fruit i particularly high in vitamin C content and free radical scavenging ability.

Aboriginal people are known to have used the fruit, but primarily they gathered the nuts. Nuts are edible with a spherical shape, 10 mm in diameter, very high in fats, over half by weight.

Tree propagation by seed is the usual method but pre-treatment is required to enable moisture to reach the embryo. One method of seed preparation is to extract the kernel by carefully cracking the hard coat and the sown the seed. Seed germination could take from 3-12 weeks.

Next, the young Desert Quandong needs to be planted within range of the roots of at least two possible hosts and guarantee it has a full sun. Propagation of Santalum acuminatum by grafting onto seedling stock is becoming more common as special forms are selected for their suitable fruiting characteristics.

Broadly speaking propagation and cultivation has been considered difficult. However, If all goes to plan, your climate is not too cold you should have stunningly red ornamental fruits inside 4 years.

Desert Quandong, Santalum acuminatum

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The key to successful fruit and nut production is the provision of a beneficial environment for the trees that bear them.