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The lemon myrtle, or lemon ironwood, is a tree growing up to 20 metres in coastal rainforests of Queensland. The leaves are strongly lemon-scented, and impart a citrus-type flavour in sweet and savoury products. The leaves contain between 0.33 and 0.86 % essential oil consisting almost entirely of citral.

Lemon myrtle is currently used in commercial products such as tea blends and beverages, dairy products, biscuits, breads, confectionery, pasta, syrups, liqueurs, flavoured oils, packaged fish, as well an aromatic agent in cleaning and cosmetic products.

CSIRO is working with Aboriginal communities and Australian industry to help develop the bush foods industry. CSIRO is seeking ways to lower production costs and increase product quality in order to meet the growing demand for a variety of food ingredients from Australian native plants, seeds and fruits.

Libraries and tags

• Plants  bush tucker   leaves