Terminalia ferdinandiana
Kakadu plum
Generally recognised as safeOther names: Kakadu plum, Billygoat plum
Kakadu plum—Northern Territory bushfood very high in vitamin C.
Deciduous tree with simple leaves and small fruits in clusters.
- Family
- Combretaceae
- Plant type
- Tree / shrub
What the safety levels mean (expand legend)
- Generally recognised as safe. Often a common herb with reasonable harvest and use; still read the specific warnings on the card.
- Information. Primarily informational — details in the text and warnings below matter most.
- Caution. Needs extra care (dose, duration, sensitive groups, interactions).
- Risky. Significant risks — verify sources, contraindications and professional guidance.
- Not for home experimentation. Not suitable to experiment with at home without knowledge and certainty.
- High risk for internal use. Particular risk with internal use (e.g. alkaloids); avoid prolonged or irresponsible dosing.
- Not specified. Level not filled in yet — rely on individual warnings and links below.
Photograph on Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0).
Plant habit
Quick overview
A practical summary; details are in the sections below.
- Safety grade
- Generally recognised as safe details
- Scientific sources on the card
- No published records yet
- When and what to harvest
- Fruit — March–June
- Processing methods
Culinary use, Powder
All methods and recipes on the card- Topics and symptoms
Immunity - informational context, Skin
Topics section, Symptoms overview
Identification and mix-ups
Fruits yellow-green, soft when ripe.
Possible mix-ups and risks
Related Terminalia by site and fruit.
Similar herbs
No related herbs are linked yet.
Topics and symptoms
More topics are in the symptoms and topics overview.
- Immunity - informational contextCulinary· Traditional / cultural framing
- SkinCosmetic· Traditional / cultural framing
Geographic occurrence
Australia
Occasional (garden, cultivation, or fringe of the range)
Harvest
- FruitMarch–June
vegetace
Region: AustraliaNotes: The small green-yellow fruits ripen at the end of the wet season (March–June) in the savannas of northern Australia and are hand-picked from trees and the ground, largely by Aboriginal communities on their own land; they are quickly frozen or dried to powder. The vitamin C content is among the highest of any known fruit and varies between trees.
Storage
- Refrigeration(Fruit)
Fresh fruit lasts only days; commercially it is frozen (12 months) or freeze-dried to powder (2 years in a closed container).
- Light:
- Keep the powder out of light — vitamin C degrades.
- Moisture:
- The powder clumps and browns.
Processing methods on this herb card
Cooking, baking, seasoning as food — general category without therapeutic claims.
Full method description (from the catalogue)
Culinary use covers herbs as ingredients in dishes, drinks, or spice mixes. This overview does not evaluate medicinal effects — only reminds you about species intent, allergies, and heat treatment where needed (e.g. some fruits or plant parts).
Combining with alcohol, sugar, or long cooking changes outcomes; verify culinary sources.
Traditional context for this method: yes·Scientific context for this method: no
Finely ground dried herb; dosing and solubility depend on species.
Full method description (from the catalogue)
Powder increases surface area for liquids or food. Home milling needs a clean grinder and control of fineness; very fine powder may clog tea filters.
Store airtight against moisture and pests.
Traditional context for this method: no·Scientific context for this method: no
Traditional / spiritual use
Kept separate from science — entries are cultural or symbolic, not medical advice.
Gubinge — the fruit communities harvest for themselves
General
Traditional useFolk useHerbal loreAboriginal nations of northern Australia, such as the Nyul Nyul of the Kimberley, ate gubinge fruit fresh and dried for thousands of years, and the tree's sap and bark belonged to their medicine. Since the 2000s communities run the harvest and sale on their own land, and when a US company tried in 2010 to patent an extract for cosmetics, the patent fell after their opposition. A record of tradition and its present-day defence, not of effect.
- Form:
- bushfood, sběr na vlastní půdě komunit
- Claim strength:
- Tradition
- Source note:
- Ethnobotany of the Kimberley and Arnhem Land; the Mary Kay Inc. patent case (2010–2011) and Aboriginal gubinge enterprises.
Scientific notes
Each claim lists a study type and a source (URL or DOI) where available. Dose notes from the literature are informational only.
How to read evidence strength and study type labels
Labels summarise how the catalogue entry is tagged — they are not a medical verdict on efficacy. For every row, read the summary, limitations and source link.
Evidence strength
- Evidence level not specified
- The author did not grade the record; judge from the summary, limitations and source link.
- Narrative / orientational literature
- Descriptive or expert literature without controlled group comparison — context rather than proof of effect.
- Weak evidence
- Study or conclusion with major methodological limits; treat only as a pointer for further reading.
- Preliminary findings
- First or smaller studies — interesting direction, not the final word on efficacy or safety.
- Moderate strength of evidence
- Moderate strength by study design; sample and context limits still apply.
- Stronger evidence
- Stronger design or consistency of results within the study's stated limits.
- Review article
- A review summarises multiple sources; quality depends on review method and field.
Study type
- Narrative / expert text
- Expert text or overview without a classical study design.
- In vitro study
- Cell culture or test-tube experiment — does not show an effect in the body.
- Animal study
- Animal model — transfer to humans is not automatic.
- Observational study
- Observing groups without random treatment assignment; confounding is possible.
- Clinical trial
- Human clinical trial; sample size and control group matter.
- Randomised controlled trial
- Randomised controlled trials are among the stronger designs when well conducted.
- Review study
- A review aggregates multiple papers — quality depends on selection rules.
- Systematic review
- Systematic review with explicit search and selection methodology.
- Meta-analysis
- Statistical pooling of studies; outcome depends on input data and heterogeneity.
- Regulatory assessment / monograph (EMA, WHO…)
- Regulatory body summary for a herbal product — different context from a single RCT; often about products, not home tea.
- Expert monograph (herbal preparations)
- Structured literature summary for a plant or drug — quality depends on author and edition year.
No published study records yet.
Images
The main photo is in the card header. More images will appear here when available.
Safety
What the warning types mean
The type on each warning helps group themes — it does not replace the separate severity badge.
- Internal use
- Risks from swallowing, extracts, duration of use or concentration for internal use.
- Interactions / medicines
- Possible effect on medicines or concurrent treatment — check sources and a professional.
- Raw plant parts
- Raw, unripe or poorly prepared plant parts can be dangerous.
- Toxins and regulation
- Toxic constituents or regulated compounds (e.g. in distillates).
- Contact with the plant
- Skin or mucosa irritation from contact with fresh plant or sap.
- Allergy
- Allergic reactions, often linked to family sensitisation.
- Harvesting and contamination
- Contamination, species mix-ups or harvesting from unsuitable places.
- Oxalic acidLow severityInternal use
Kakadu plum fruit contains, alongside vitamin C, high amounts of oxalic acid (Williams et al. 2016 — 'the bad'), which contributes to kidney stone formation in susceptible people. Daily spoons of powder 'for the vitamin C' are not a good idea with a tendency to oxalate stones; occasionally as fruit, yes.