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Kunzea pomifera
Also called Muntries
Munthari (Kunzea pomifera), also called muntries, is a low-growing or prostrate native shrub from southeast Australia, valued for its small edible berries. It grows best in sandy, well-drained soil in full sun.
Kunzea pomifera, commonly known as muntries, emu apples, native cranberries, munthari, muntaberry or monterry (from Tanganekald Ngarrindjeri mantari), is a flowering plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-east of continental Australia. It is a low-growing or prostrate shrub with hairy stems, small, mostly egg-shaped leaves, groups of white flowers on the ends of the branches and fleshy, more or less spherical, edible fruit.
Kunzea pomifera was grown in England in 1889. It was one of the first species of Australian plant introduced into cultivation in England.
Muntries grows in Victoria and South Australia. In Victoria it grows mainly in sandy soil in the Little Desert and Big Desert and small populations between Portland and Nelson. In South Australia it grows in sandy soil, often with limestone, between the Yorke Peninsula and the Victorian border.
The berries produced by these plants are about 1 centimetre (0.39 in) in diameter, green with a tinge of red at maturity and have a flavour of a spicy apple. Crunchy in texture, muntries contain up to four times more antioxidants than blueberries and provide natural waxes that are good for skin nourishment.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Kunzea pomifera by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
