Attila Kapitany is an expert in Australian Succulents and Bulbs.
Succulent plants grow in semi-arid or seasonally dry regions found across most of Australia, sometimes even in tropical and other seasonally wetter parts of the country. In more moist and humid areas, there are some succulent plants that are found in drier micro-habitats, such as on exposed trees or rocks.
Australia can boast at least 400 species that can be regarded as succulent.
Much of Australia has the most irregular rainfall of any continent. It is a land of drought or deluge, sometimes with little moderation in between.
While many Australian succulent plants have a range of uses, some have been lost over time, so the list of Aboriginal traditional food plants in literature underestimates the full range of plants that were used prior to European settlement.
In more recent years Australian food plants, also called bush foods or ‘bush tucker’, including some naturalised species, have gained popularity as people seek out alternative food sources, a few of which are already highly regarded in gourmet cooking.
