Santalum acuminatum, the desert quandong, is a hemiparasitic plant in the sandalwood family, Santalaceae, (Native to Australia) which is widely dispersed throughout the central deserts and southern areas of Australia.The species, especially its edible fruit, is also commonly referred to as quandong or native peach. The use of the fruit as an exotic flavouring, one of the best known bush tucker (bush food), has led to the attempted domestication of the species.
Desert quandong is an evergreen tree, its fruit can be stewed to make pie filling for quandong pies or made into a fruit juice drink. The seed (kernel) inside the tough shell can be extracted to be crushed into a paste then be used on sore gums or an oral gum boil to ease the pain. Because it is one of the few drought-tolerant fruit trees in far-west New South Wales, it is popular to grow among many Aboriginal communities and the non-Indigenous Australians who are aware of it.
