What's small, usually purple and juicy? Before you go thinking about things you ought not to, the best answer to this is Lilli Pilli!

Lilli Pilli, or sometimes Lilly Pilly, is the name of both the native berry and tree that inhabits the rainforests of Queensland and New South Wales, Australia. The fruits of the many different species can be as small as blueberries or as large as cherries, and usually have a waxy surface bloom. The colour of the fruit can range from white through soft pink to red or pale lilac, and they have a sweet, but slightly acidic taste.

For European Tastes?

The first recorded European sighting of Lilli Pilli in Australia was by Sir Joseph Banks on 3 May, 1770. He states in his journal of the day;

We found also several trees which bore fruit of the Jambosa kind, much in colour and shape resembling cherries; of these they eat plentifully and brought home also abundance, which we eat with much pleasure tho they had little to recommend them but light acid.

Jambosa is a name from Jambu - a Hindu name for the Rose Apple (Eugenia jambolana). The plant that Banks identified was most likely the Brush Cherry (Syzygium paniculatum), but the name Lilli Pilli is used for a confusing number of plants, with many different species in three or four genera, including both the genus Acmena and the genus Syzygium of the Myrtle family. The plants are characterised by dull, dark evergreen leaves with paler undersides, and because of this Lilli Pillies are widely planted in Australian gardens as hedge and topiary species. In the right climate the trees can also grow exceptionally tall, some reaching heights comparable to that of large conifers. The flowers are usually small, white and fluffy and blossom in early summer while mass fruiting occurs in late summer (January/February) every few years.

The berries themselves are a favourite food of many native Australian animals, in particular the bird life. Birdwatchers will often see some of the smaller and rarer Australian native birds alighting in a Lilli Pilli tree; including rainbow lorikeets, blue wrens, finches and even larger cockatoos and galahs have been known to find the fruit a delicacy. If you have a Lilli Pilli tree growing near your home, it is unwise to hang light-coloured clothes out on the washing line in the summer, as passing birds can befoul¹ your drying clothes with long purple stains of excrement. The gunk is extremely hard to wash out as the berry juice stains very easily. Young children also take great delight in throwing either the unripe or ripened berries at each other or passers-by, so beware of the schoolyard that contains the Lilli Pilli tree.

Lilli Pilli & Pear Cake

Lilli Pilli are used in many different foods - the most popular being jams, jellies and cakes - and are even added to fruit juices. This recipe is just one way of using the tasty fruit.

Ingredients

• 250g (9oz) butter

• 1 cup castor sugar

• 4 eggs

• 300ml (½ pint) sour cream

• 2 and a ½ cups self-raising flour

• 2 cups stewed Lilli Pillies

• 4 peeled, chopped pears (not cooked)

Method

1. Preheat an oven to 170 - 180°C (340 - 370°F).

2. Mix the butter and sugar, then add the eggs and beat until creamy.

3. Add the sour cream and beat until everything has combined and it's all fluffy and 'peaks'².

4. Add the fruit alternately with flour. A bit of pear, a bit of flour, a bit of Lilli Pilli, a bit of flour. Sift the flour in if you can, it makes for a lighter, spongier cake in the end, as long as you don't overbeat!

5. Pour the mixture into a greased circular cake tin and bake for 30-45 minutes.

6. Allow to cool before removing from tin. Lightly dust with icing sugar.

Serving Suggestion

Serve cake with lime curd, a dollop of whipped cream and a sprinkle of lime zest. Wash down with a good cup of tea.