Bulkud carrot

The Bulkud Carrot grows in well-drained soil, and is ready to harvest when the plant produces a purple flower.

Traditionally, locals would keep an eye out for its signature flower while walking or hunting, and when sighted, would carefully dig the tubers with sticks. They’d then peel off the tough skin and chew the sweet fibrous flesh. When they found many, some would also be saved to be softened by roasting on coals back at camp.

When in season, they would also eat the plant’s green bean-like seed pods.

They are harvested in the wake of wet season, generally from when the rains finish in March, until the end of June.

In our culture, much of our world belongs to one of two halves or moieties: Duwa and Yirridjdja. This includes all human beings, ancestral beings, flora and fauna, natural phenomenon, sites and land – it’s all connected together.

Bulkud Carrot is classified under this system as Yirridjdja.

My mum showed me how to dig and cook bush food, and when I used to go hunting with my brother at around 14 years old, we used to eat these. Now I show my own grandson how to gather bush food.

Hedley Brian

Season

Wet season

Common names

Ndjébbana
kanjornda
Burarra
Ngukubaura
Kuninjku
Bulkud
Gurr-goni
Nguw-mut-baykirdi
Kunbarlang
Djubak
Djinang
Ngukkibiri