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Cystococcus
The bush coconut, or bloodwood apple, is an Australian bush tucker food. It is an insect gall with both plant and animal components: an adult female scale insect and her offspring (of genus Cystococcus) live in a gall induced on a bloodwood eucalypt tree (Corymbia). Bush coconuts can vary from golf ball to tennis ball size. They have a hard and lumpy outer layer. The inner layer is a white flesh that contains the female insect and her offspring. There are three known species of Cystococcus responsible for forming the bush coconut: Cystococcus pomiformis, Cystococcus echiniformis and Cystococcus campanidorsalis. C. pomiformis is the most common species. The bush coconut is found in Western Australia, the Northern Territory, Queensland and New South Wales.
The bush coconut is picked from the host tree and cracked open to allow the flesh and scale insects to be eaten.
Bush coconuts are often collected during the cold season, usually in April or May, while they still contain the living insect. They are picked from the host tree and then cracked open with a rock or other hard object. The gall may be softened by placing it on hot ashes. The flesh lining of the gall is scraped out and the insect and flesh are consumed. The bush coconut is a food source for Indigenous Australians and also for birds and other insects. The insect has a sweet, juicy taste and high water content. The water inside the insect is known as the bush coconut juice. The galls provide shelter for arthropods including tree crickets, ants and spiders.
The formation of the bush coconut gall is the result of a symbiotic relationship between the host and the female scale insect.
Bush coconuts provide a good source of protein to the diet. A research study of the nutrition of the bush coconut from Cystococcus pomiformis living in a gall on the Corymbia opaca found both male and female insects have high protein content and high gross energy. The range of gross energy was 15.12 to 25.13 MJ/kg for females and 22.56 to 26.87 MJ/kg for males. The lining of the gall, in comparison, has lower gross energy with a range of 14.15 to 16.67 MJ/kg.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Bush coconut by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts are shared under the same licence.
