Naming
The 1889 book 'The Useful Native Plants of Australia' records the common names of "Castanospermum australe" as "Moreton Bay Chestnut" and "Bean tree" and notes that it was called "Irtalie" by Aboriginal people of the Richmond and Clarence Rivers and "Bogum" by "others of Northern New South Wales". Other names that have been used by Aboriginal peoples are: baway, yiwurra, junggurraa, mirrayn, ganyjuu, and binyjaalga.The trees are popular as potted plants in Asia, Europe and America. In addition, they have been used as shade trees in landscaping for parks.Food
The unprocessed seeds are poisonous, and can cause vomiting and diarrhoea, but they become edible when carefully prepared by roasting, cutting up into small pieces, leaching with running water for several days, and pounding into flour and roasting it as a damper. The seeds have been prepared and eaten for at least 2,500 years. The 1889 book 'The Useful Native Plants of Australia' notes and describes this use of the beans. As of 2012, the food was not used in modern bush tucker, and there was no nutritional information available on the seeds.Cultural
Due to its importance as a food, the blackbean tree was a seasonal gathering point for Aboriginal peoples, and this acted as a catalyst for ceremonies. Songlines featuring the black bean seeds have been collected. The bark fibre has been used for fish and animal traps, nets and baskets, and the empty seed pods have been used as toy boats. Additionally, the tree has been used as a seasonal signal for when to hunt jungle fowl.References:
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