Let’s Delve Deeper Into This Edible Indigenous Plant

This is the murnong or yam daisy. For tens of thousands of years, it was a food staple for the Indigenous people living on Wurundjeri land where Science Gallery Melbourne resides today, as well as for many other people living across the eastern region of Australia.  

The murnong plant produces gangly, white, tuberous roots. They can be baked like a potato, tossed into salads or ground into a paste for desserts. People often describe them as having a slightly sweet, nutty or coconutty taste. Other people compare the taste to a potato. 

Murnong can be hard to identify in the wild because they look a lot like a lot of the other yellow daisy plants, including dandelions and flat weed (also known as cats ears). 

Foraging for yam daisies held cultural significance for Wurundjeri people. It was typically done by women with their digging sticks. The act of digging also helped to aerate the soil, encouraging more murnong to grow. Fire is also important as it encourages the plant to germinate.

In the 1840s, the introduction of sheep to Wurundjeri land rendered the yam daisy virtually extinct. The animals trod down on the grasslands, making it hard for them to grow back through the compacted soil.  

Today, the conservation status of murnong is CRITICALLY ENDANGERED. The grassy homelands surrounding Melbourne where yam daisies still grow are slowly being impeded on by the growing urban sprawl. 

Murnong (All Times) is also the name of this artwork by NOT NATURAL artist Tahlia Palmer. Palmer began this audiovisual work in 2021 after being gifted yam daisy seeds— a gift that represents sacredness, survival and ongoing connection to her ancestors. 

Interested in growing murnong in your garden? We found yam daisies for sale here!