Smooth Davidson’s Plum

Gathering for an endangered Bundjalung species

Smooth Davidson's Plum was a First Nations-led project bringing communities together to strengthen Cultural, ecological and community understanding of Smooth Davidson's Plum (Davidsonia johnsonii) and its role on Country.

What is the Smooth Davidson's Plum project?

Smooth Davidson's Plum (Davidsonia johnsonii) is a Federally listed endangered rainforest species unique to Bundjalung Country. It reproduces almost entirely through root suckers rather than seed, which means its survival on Country depends on the care and stewardship of the communities connected to it.

In partnership with the NSW Government and the Botanic Gardens of Sydney, and supported by the Australian Government's Saving Native Species program, this project set out to learn First Nations knowledge of the plant and incorporate this into its recovery. That meant yarning with Bundjalung Knowledge Holders about how and why Smooth Davidson's Plum has been used, the stories connected to it, and its Cultural importance as a traditional food source and Cultural resource.

Through a series of targeted, Culturally appropriate gatherings, the project asked what matters to the Bundjalung community when restoring this species, and how specific actions, from planting sites to Ranger-led habitat care, could be woven into recovery efforts. The aim was to ensure Cultural values sit at the heart of restoration, and to reinvigorate Traditional Ecological Knowledge alongside it.

"Instead of having a monoculture, let's build Country back up and we'll have abundance."

Participant, South Ballina Nature Reserve gathering

The Smooth Davidson's Plum is more than an endangered plant. It is a teacher, a connector, and a doorway into Bundjalung food ways, Cultural economy and Country that sits inside a living Bundjalung Knowledge System, connected to animals, water, fire, story and people. 

Key activities 

Grounded in Yarning as Method, a Culturally appropriate, Indigenous-led approach to sharing Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK), the project brought Bundjalung Knowledge Holders, Elders, Rangers, community members and scientists together on Country through a range of activities: 

  • Knowledge Holder gatherings, including the Plum Good Yarns on Country with Bundjalung Elders, Rangers, bushfood practitioners and community members to share stories, Cultural significance and responsibilities for caring for the species. 

  • Two-way science, weaving Bundjalung Cultural Knowledge together with genomics research from the Botanic Gardens of Sydney to better understand the species' reproduction, genetic diversity and recovery. 

  • Mapping and caring for wild stands. 

  • Conservation plantings of carefully selected, genetically diverse trees on Country, alongside local Rangers, Jagun Alliance staff, the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney team and DCCEEW. 

  • Yarns about naming, Language and Cultural protocols, including Knowledge Holder-led conversations about the colonial origins of the botanical name Davidsonia and pathways toward a Bundjalung name for the species. 

  • Documenting Cultural and ecological recommendations under ICIP guidelines to guide future Bundjalung-led stewardship of the species. 

Poster representing Smooth Davidson’s Plum and other bush foods from a yarn at the South Ballina gathering. Illustration: Michele Lockwood 

Why is this project important? 

Smooth Davidson's Plum is one of the rarest rainforest trees on Bundjalung Country. With very low seed production and a reliance on root suckering, wild populations face serious pressures from habitat loss, fragmentation and low genetic diversity. 

This project wasn’t just about this plant. Caring for Smooth Davidson's Plum means caring for bushfood systems, kinship obligations, seasonal Knowledge, ceremony and Country as a whole. 

The project reframes recovery as a Cultural responsibility grounded in reciprocity, abundance and Country-led practice.

Outcomes and recommendations 

The project has established strong foundations for ongoing Bundjalung-led stewardship of Smooth Davidson's Plum, including: 

  • A recommendation to initiate a formal Cultural naming process led by Knowledge Holders, recognising Bundjalung Language and reconsidering the colonial name Davidsonia. 

  • A co-authored Cultural species profile capturing story, Cultural significance, uses, ecology and responsibilities. 

  • Embedding ceremony into monitoring, ecological restoration and recovery. 

  • A network of Cultural-ecological reference sites across the species' range. 

  • Establishment of a Bushfoods Working Group under Jagun Alliance's Cultural governance. 

  • Strengthened partnerships with nurseries, Botanic Gardens, Ranger networks and government agencies working on threatened species recovery. 

  • Advocacy for flexible, Culturally-led frameworks around wild bushfood harvesting, translocation and propagation. 

"Monitoring is ceremony… mob don't just monitor, they go out on Country, they hunt, they check signs… that's ceremony."

Participant, South Ballina Nature Reserve gathering

The Smooth Davidson's Plum project was led by Jagun Alliance Aboriginal Corporation in partnership with the NSW Government and the Botanic Gardens of Sydney, and supported by the Australian Government's Saving Native Species program.