Love Letter to Lilly Pillies

Lilly Pillies are just about everywhere! You'll find mighty bush trees in NSW and QLD that seem to fruit all year round.

But in Victoria they're an urban forager's delight. Households grow them as hedges to keep the peeping toms from looking in. Councils love planting them everywhere; you'll even spot a massive tree behind the public toilets in Reservoir. I’m not sure how close is too close when it comes to foraging next to a public dunny, but I’m willing to push those boundaries.

They've got more aliases than a traveling conman: Riberry, Brush Cherry, Monkey Berry, Chinese Apple... whose bright idea was it to give them so many names? They’re all just Lilly Pillies—the basic-bitch of Aussie bush tucker, most of them fall under the Syzygium family.

The fruit comes in all sorts of colours: hot pink, red, royal blue, purple, white. They’re fairly small and can be round or oval—and all Lilly Pilly varieties are edible! My faves are the hard-to-find blue ones, but the fuchsia ones are second best.

Now, for the newbie foragers out there: don’t get it twisted. Not every round berry is a Lilly Pilly. Do your homework.

Start by observing the leaves. They’re typically glossy green, with many varieties showing yellow or red on new growth. If you crush the leaves, they release a distinctive clovey-fruity aroma. The edges of the leaves are smooth, not jagged—so if you see serrated edges, it’s not a Lilly Pilly.

A key indicator for most Lilly Pilly fruit is the small, star-like indentation at the base of the fruit. The rest of the fruit will be smooth, sometimes with a slightly waxy feel.

Each type has its own unique flavour. They’re usually tart with a hint of summer bush. Some taste like crisp green apples, while others? Sour dirt. You’ll just have to taste-test your way through.

I’ve got my “spot” at the Pentridge Shopping Centre, where I sneak a pocketful and try to ignore any onlookers. True OG forager vibes.

Some Aboriginal groups called them 'medicine berries', and I like to pretend they’ll keep me from catching a cold—gotta save my sickies for beach weather.

If you’re not eating them fresh, Lilly Pillies are perfect for jam, jelly, or chutney. Throw them into salads, or pickle them to pair with a bit of cheese. Even the yuck ones make great cordial—sugar covers a multitude of sins. You can brew the fruit or young leaves into tea. Chuck the clove-tasting fruit in a biryani, who knows if that will work, I just made it up. Everyone’s so creative.