Language                                                   Name

Noongar-Wudjari (W8):                 

Noongar-Nyoongar/Baaduk (W41):       Mirda-djardak djinda djet

Common name:                                         Boobialla, Slender Myoporum

Scientific name:                                         Myoporum tetrandrum

Group name for Plants

Wudjari:                                                      Dek

Nyoongar/Baaduk:                                   Dek

Group name for Flowers

Wudjari:                                                       Djet

Nyoongar/Baaduk:                                    Djet

Nyoongar:      Mirda-djardak = pink, djinda = star, djet = flower.

Looks like: 
Nyoongar: White star-shaped flowers with small purple spots towards the centre, and medium-sized, small green fruit. Flowers are pale mauve or white. Petals have little purple dots on them. 5 petals - flower is star-shaped. Little fruit goes from green to purple. Berries are purple when ripe. Ground cover. Leaves are alternate along the stem - therefore you can eat it. Sap is sticky - sap from the leaves.

Feels like: 
Nyoongar: Fleshy, juicy leaves. Wood is very soft. 

Tastes like: 
Nyoongar: Astringent and sweet. 

Smells like: 
Nyoongar: Sweet smell
 

Food:
Nyoongar: You can eat the fruits. When they're ripe, the berries are purple. The leaves grow alternately along the stem rather than opposite each other on the stem – therefore you can eat it. But they would give you a tummy ache if you ate it unripe or ate too many of them. (Caution if eating large quantities: no toxicity has been found in this species, but fruits of related plants contain liver toxins that can be harmful in large quantities).

Medicine:

Other uses:
Nyoongar: Flowers used for decoration. Marker for Country where ancestors camped.

Nyoongar: If you see it, you know it’s a camping ground, because they would plant it where they camped. It takes root very easily from cuttings. It is a coastal plant. It grows in sandy soils.

Nyoongar: It doesn’t need roots to grow – you can chop a section off and stick it in the ground, and it will grow. It creeps along the ground. It is salt-tolerant.

Nyoongar: It is totemic and a Nyoongar/Baaduk boundary marker.

Nyoongar: Flowers in Kambarang (Oct–Nov).

Birak
 

Boonaroo
 

Djeran
 

Mookaroo
 

Djilba
 

Kambarang
Nyoongar: Flowering in Kambarang (Oct-Nov)

Nyoongar: They are integral to the ecological system of Australia, and Taalyaraak Country.

Nyoongar: Much loved plant. When people walked across the Country, they would take sprigs of it wherever they went along the coast. Wherever they found a good place to camp for a while, they'd stick it in the ground and get it growing. It was taken from a place that they loved, and was in their hearts, to wherever they camped – so it was one of their markers of Country. So if you see it, you know it’s a camping ground, because they would place it where they camped.

Nyoongar: Attracts birds, bees, insects and lizards. The fruit can be used to make gin.

Nyoongar: The shape of the flower is like stars. All plants and animals have a connection to the outer world.

Nyoongar: Don't strip it down and harvest everything. They take root very easily, so it was easy to move this plant around. The old plants die and new plants grow in that place from the old plant's seeds. It is essential to preserve these plants rather than clear land, because they only grow in certain areas.