Midgen berry

What it is

Each round berry is only 0.5–0.6 cm (about ¼ in) across. The skin is white, but its dark spots give the whole fruit a mauve cast. Inside are three to nine pale brown seeds. The berries can be eaten whole, or added to fruit salads, pies and jam.

Where it comes from

Midgen, Austromyrtus dulcis, comes from the eastern Australian coast, from around Valla in New South Wales north to Fraser Island in Queensland. It grows in sandy heath, scrub and open forest, sometimes at the edge of rainforest.

A favoured bushfood of First Nations people, it is also a familiar plant in Australian native gardens, where its spreading branches make a low hedge.

How it's eaten where it grows

In Australian kitchens, midyim berries go into an apple pastry slice: green apple slices and berries are dotted with butter and brown sugar, then enclosed in strips of puff pastry plaited over the filling. It is served with cream or custard.

The fruit also makes a syrup for a midyim gin fizz, mixed with gin and lime juice. Fresh berries and jam offer simpler ways to taste it.

How it's grown

The shrub can reach 2 m (6½ ft), but its shape depends on where it grows. At the Australian National Botanic Gardens in Canberra, plants in full sun form dense bushes up to 40 cm (16 in) high and 1.4 m (4½ ft) across; in shade they spread more openly. Good drainage and steady moisture suit it.

Fresh seed, cleaned of its fruit, germinates in three to four weeks. Cuttings are another way to grow it. The plant also grows in large pots on a light verandah or terrace.

When and where you'll find it

In Australia, the berries are usually picked in late summer and autumn, after flowers that open in spring and summer in the wild.

Growing your own is one way to meet this fruit. Nurseries that specialise in native bushfood sell the plants around Australia, and some can be found online. A shrub in a large pot or a low garden hedge puts the berries within reach.