Wild Flowersby Veronica Mungaloon

Artwork: Wild Flowers
Artist: Veronica Mungaloon

This artwork depicts wild flowers the Aboriginal women in Central Australia collect. Some wild flowers and plant species have natural healing properties which are used as a bush medicine for Aboriginal people.

Bush medicine is the term used by Aboriginal people to describe their traditional medicinal knowledge and practices. Different language groups have different bush medicine knowledge, based on where they live in Australia. Many Aboriginal people still use this knowledge today.

Generally, bush medicine is made from plant materials, such as bark, leaves (e.g. Tea tree oil, (Melaleuca oil)) and seeds. Steaming, smoking and heating are also important bush medicine practices and could be carried out on the sick and newborn babies.