Bush Mangoes are a sweet tasting fruit between 1g and 2g with a unique flavour that has long been a favourite delicacy for the Yolngu people of East Arnhem Land. Both fruit and kernels are eaten for their taste and nutritional value. Its Latin name is Buchanania obovata and it is in the same family (Anacardiaceae) as mangoes, pistachios, cashews and hog plums. It is in the same genus as the Indian delicacy charoli. Yolngu people harvest the fruit in the early wet season from wild populations in tropical savanna across East Arnhem Land. One of it's yolngu names is munydjutj.

 

Cultivate NT, in partnership with Charles Darwin University, carried out a research project in 2014-15 into factors affecting the fruit yield of bush mango. Publications of this work are forthcomming and it was found fire, soil type and region has a significant effect on yield. This work combined with local knowledge has refined fire management practices to optimise plant density, size and fruit yeild. It has also informed site selection for augmentation of existing plant populations and suggested that East Arnhem Land has a productivity advantage over the Darwin region with regard to this species.