The bush coconut (scale insect gall) as food at Kiwirrkurra, Western Australia

Abstract

The bush coconut is used as a source of food by several Australian Aboriginal communities. It is actually a scale insect gall. Originally all bush coconut insects were given the same species name, but now there are at least three species in Australia. The bloodwood trees at Kiwirrkurra (Western Australia), 'Corymbia opaca', had bush coconuts built by the scale insect 'Cystococcus pomiformis'. The use of the coconut is described by some Aboriginal women from Kiwirrkurra. The nutritional value of the bush coconuts from Kiwirrkurra is determined; this is important information because the species tested is known while the species identification of galls in earlier publications is now uncertain due to taxonomic changes.