Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun An Australian shrub or small tree (Santalum acuminatum) that is hemiparasitic on the roots of other plants and bears edible red fruit.
  • noun An Australian tree (Elaeocarpus angustifolius) having glossy leaves, greenish-white flowers, and shiny bright blue fruit.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun Same as quandang. See also Fusanus.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun (Bot.) The edible drupaceous fruit of an Australian tree (Fusanus acuminatus) of the Sandalwood family; -- called also quandang.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun The fruit of a sandalwood tree.
  • noun The fruit of Elaeocarpus angustifolius, unrelated to sandalwood, called blue quandong.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun Australian tree with edible flesh and edible nutlike seed
  • noun the fruit of the Brisbane quandong tree
  • noun Australian tree having hard white timber and glossy green leaves with white flowers followed by one-seeded glossy blue fruit
  • noun red Australian fruit; used for dessert or in jam

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Wiradhuri (Pama-Nyungan language of southeast Australia) guwandhaaŋ.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Wiradjuri guwandhang

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Examples

  • Enough to accept that I might never make it to Australia’s outback to sample bush fruits like the red quandong, which is considered a gourmet treat, or the blue quandong, which looks like an ostrich egg painted metallic blue with a glitter gun, or even the silver quandong, which is so far ahead of its time that fruities will only be eating them in the distant future.

    The Fruit Hunters Adam Leith Gollner 2008

  • The regent bowerbird is enjoying his morning shower 50 metres up in the top of the quandong, meticulously grooming each gleaming feather.

    Australian floods: Why were we so surprised? 2011

  • Struck with bewilderment, the honey-eaters became dumb, the dismayed doves forgot to coo, the scrub-fowl ceased their chuckling, and three cockatoos flew from the blue-fruited quandong-tree shrieking abominable sarcasms.

    My Tropic Isle 2003

  • “Bedyewrie” (XIMENIA AMERICANA) has a sweetish flavour, with a speedy after-taste of bitter almonds, and generally refreshing and thirst-allaying qualities; the shiny blue quandong

    The Confessions of a Beachcomber 2003

  • The nutritional potential of the quandong (Santalum acuminatum) kernel.

    Chapter 7 1990

  • The quandong (Santalum acuminatum) is widely distributed across Australia's arid inland.

    Chapter 7 1990

  • The quandong is reported to be highly resistant to drought, high temperatures, and salinity.

    Chapter 7 1990

  • Preliminary assessment of an orchard of quandong seedling trees.

    Chapter 7 1990

  • Struck with bewilderment, the honey-eaters became dumb, the dismayed doves forgot to coo, the scrub-fowl ceased their chuckling, and three cockatoos flew from the blue-fruited quandong-tree shrieking abominable sarcasms.

    My Tropic Isle 1887

  • We passed several quandong trees in full fruit, of which we ate a great quantity; they were the most palatable, and sweetest I have ever eaten.

    Australia Twice Traversed, Illustrated, Ernest Giles 1866

Comments

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  • "'What's an illywhacker?' said Charles.

    'Spieler,' explained Leah, who was not used to children. 'Eelerspee. It's like pig Latin. Spieler is ieler-spe and then iely-whacker. Illywhacker. See?'

    'I think so,' Charles said.

    'A spieler,' Leah gently loosened the painful crab hold of the boy's hand. 'Your nails are sharp. A trickster. A quandong. A ripperty man. A con-man.'"

    —Peter Carey, Illywhacker, 245–246

    April 16, 2009