Australia boasts over 60 different varieties of lilly pillies all of which appear to be edible. They range from a small bush to a large tree and are well respected for their spectacular ornamental qualities. Their tastes vary quite markedly but all have a high pectin content and are well suited to preserving. The trees make excellent screens, windbreaks, bird attractants or garden ornamentals.
The small leaved lilly pilly or riberry produces masses of red pear shaped fruit. Mature trees can yield up to 80kg. The fruit exhibits a juicy but slightly acidic clove-like finish reminiscent of cinnamon. It is a very popular ingredient in wildfood dishes. Its handsome purple-red growth makes this lilly pilly one of the favourites.
Cutting grown selection of the tasty and attractive Blue Lilly Pilly fruit. The delicate fruit is aromatic with a sweetish slightly gingery or turpentine flavour. Fruit is a distinctive blue colour.
The Brush Cherry is a common plant of coastal and highland rainforests. Known to reach up to 25m in its ideal habitat it is usually much smaller in cultivation. The leaves are opposite, rounded and bright, glossy green in colour. White flowers are followed by large, fleshy, red fruits in profusion. These are oval in shape and around 20 mm long with a large seed. The fruits are edible and are often made into jams.
140mm | $7.90 AU | In Production | 
This is a hybrid species of lilly pilly that looks similar to the powderpuff lilly pilly but it has pale pink flowers followed by yummy pale pink fruits. Excellent for Hedges
140mm | $9.75 AU | In Production |
| Height | Frost tol. | Pollination req'd | Evergreen/Deciduous | Harvest period |
| 2-25 | Medium | No | Evergreen | June - September |
We welcome your Tips on Lilly Pilly. Share Your Tip.
Be very carefull to pick a Lilly Pilly that is resistant to the lilly pilly psyllid (Trioza eugeniae) otherwise you have to spray fortnightly which is costly and makes the fruit inedible. | Mitch White - Turramurra, NSW 20-Sep-2007
LILLY PILLY, Syzygium sp, the Small Leaved Lilly Pilly/Riberry makes a beautiful screening hedge. It does very well in my clay soil prepared with gypsum before planting. It has grown over 3 metres clipped annually. Now established, I rarely water. | Sue Brennan - Kew, VIC 02-Jan-2010
Don't worry about the psyllids, they make the tree unsightly but they won't kill the tree or spoil the fruit. My trees provide loads of fruit despite the psyllids and without spraying. Otherwise try the Eugenia species which are psyllid resistant. | Janet Riepon - Beverly Hills, NSW 28-Jan-2010
http://www.teachers.ash.org.au/bushtucker/Riberry.html
http://www.nativecrops.com.au/industry/inproffd/crops/riberry.htm
Updated: 14th of September, 2006 at 1:36pm © Disclaimer/Privacy/Copyright