quandong the fruit of the S. Australian sandalwood tree, Eucarya acuminata = Santalum acuminatum, known also as native peach or (in W. Australia) wolgol. This is round and red, as large as a small plum, and has soft, sweet, red flesh which is made into jam or chutney and used as pie filling. The stone is hard to crack, but yields a kernel which is rich and whose flavour when roasted ranges from somewhat bitter or pungent to acceptable.
The quandong is a parasitic tree, capable of attaching itself to any of numerous hosts and able to survive in very arid conditions. In the 1990s a start was made in cultivating it.
