Bush Coconut - NT

Bush coconut stop on Batton Hill Bush Tucker Tour. A female coccid insect, usually Cystococcus pomiformis, settles on the branch of a desert bloodwood tree (Corymbia terminalis). It irritates the tree until it defends itself by sprouting a knobby tumor. This gall grows around the grub, who spends the rest of its life there, drinking tree sap and even mating with male grubs via a tiny air hole. Together, the gall and the worm form the bush coconut, sometimes called the less appetizing “bloodwood gall.” The name instead comes from the gall’s coconut-flavored flesh. The worm which has a sweet, juicy taste is also eaten.