Australia's native herb and spice pantry is one of the most distinctive and underutilised in the world. While most Australians reach for Mediterranean herbs — basil, oregano, thyme — to flavour their cooking, the continent they live on offers a range of native aromatics with flavour profiles unlike anything in the European or Asian culinary tradition. Many of these plants also have significant medicinal histories, used by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities for tens of thousands of years before any European arrived to call them 'herbs.'
This guide covers the most important native Australian herbs and spices — their flavour profiles, medicinal properties, where to find them, and how to use them in both the kitchen and the medicine cabinet. It connects to the deeper plant medicine content throughout this site, with links to more detailed guides where relevant.
Lemon Myrtle (Backhousia citriodora)
The jewel of the Australian native herb pantry. Lemon myrtle's citral content — up to 98% of the essential oil — gives it the most intensely clean lemon-citrus flavour of any plant on earth. The dried leaves are extraordinary in baking, where they replace lemon zest at half the quantity with far more complex results. They work in savoury applications too — lemon myrtle-crusted fish, lemon myrtle butter sauces, lemon myrtle-infused cream for desserts. The possibilities are extensive once you get used to the intensity.
Medicinally, lemon myrtle's citral content gives it potent antimicrobial properties — one controlled trial found lemon myrtle oil more effective than tea tree against molluscum contagiosum. The essential oil and dried leaf products are among the most broadly useful of any native herb in both kitchen and medicine cabinet. Full guide: lemon myrtle tea and lemon myrtle essential oil.
Mountain Pepper (Tasmannia lanceolata)
Mountain pepper — sometimes called Tasmanian pepper or pepperberry — is a shrub native to the cool, moist forests of south-eastern Australia, particularly Tasmania and the highlands of Victoria and NSW. The berries (the 'pepper') and the leaves both have culinary use, and both are intensely spiced — mountain pepper berries are considerably hotter than black pepper, with a complex flavour that includes peppery heat, fruity notes and a distinctive cooling finish caused by the compound polygodial.
Polygodial is also responsible for mountain pepper's antimicrobial activity — it has been shown active against a range of bacteria and fungi in laboratory research, and has a history of use in Australian food manufacturing as a natural preservative. The berries are high in antioxidants and have anti-inflammatory properties associated with their anthocyanin content (they are deep purple-black when ripe).
In cooking: use mountain pepper berries ground as a replacement for black pepper, at about 25–30% of the quantity — the heat is significantly more intense. Mountain pepper leaves can be used dried and crumbled into stocks, stews and marinades. Both are increasingly available from native food suppliers and specialty food stores nationally.
Wattleseed (Acacia species)
Wattleseed is not traditionally a herb but a grain — the seeds of several Acacia species, ground into flour or roasted whole. But its flavour profile — a complex combination of chocolate, coffee, hazelnut and roasted grain — puts it firmly in the culinary aromatic category, and it functions like a spice in many applications. Wattleseed is the primary flavouring in Australia's most distinctive native food products: wattleseed lattes, wattleseed ice cream, wattleseed bread and wattleseed brownies are all well-established on native food menus.
Nutritionally, wattleseed flour is high in protein (around 25%), low glycaemic index and provides significant iron and zinc. It is gluten-free, which makes it relevant for coeliac and gluten-sensitive consumers. The roasted seeds can be ground at home from commercially available wattleseed products; the pre-ground flour is ready to use directly in baking as a flavour addition or partial flour substitute.
River Mint (Mentha australis)
Australia's native mint grows along waterways throughout south-eastern Australia, producing aromatic leaves with a mint flavour that is gentler and more complex than commercial peppermint. Lower menthol content means less of the sharp coolness of peppermint, and more of the underlying savoury herb character that makes mint useful in cooking rather than just confectionery.
River mint was used medicinally by Aboriginal communities for headaches, respiratory complaints and as a general tonic. Culinary uses parallel those of introduced mints: fresh leaves in salads, mint sauces, drinks (it makes an excellent native Australian mojito), and desserts. The plant grows readily in garden settings near water, and the leaves can be used fresh or dried. Available from some native plant nurseries and increasingly from native food suppliers.
Native Thyme (Prostanthera species)
Several Prostanthera species — commonly called mint bushes or native thyme — produce aromatic leaves with flavour profiles ranging from thyme-like to more complex minty-camphor combinations. Prostanthera rotundifolia (round-leaved mint bush) is among the most commonly used culinarily. The dried leaves can be used in the same applications as European thyme — roasted meats, soups, vegetable dishes — with a distinctly Australian aromatic character.
Native thyme species have traditional medicinal use in south-eastern Australian Aboriginal communities, primarily for respiratory conditions and as general aromatic medicines. The camphor-containing varieties have obvious potential for respiratory steam preparations. Available from native plant nurseries; the plants are generally easy to grow in most Australian gardens.
Anise Myrtle (Syzygium anisatum)
Anise myrtle is a subtropical rainforest tree native to north-eastern NSW, producing leaves with an intense aniseed-liquorice aroma driven by high methyl chavicol content. It is one of the most distinctive of Australia's native culinary herbs — there is genuinely nothing else that smells and tastes quite like it.
In cooking: dried and ground anise myrtle leaves flavour biscuits, cakes and chocolates; infused into cream for panna cotta and crème brûlée; used in fish and seafood marinades where the aniseed character complements white flesh; brewed as a herbal tea with a particularly clean anise flavour.
Medicinally, the essential oil of anise myrtle has demonstrated antimicrobial activity in laboratory research, consistent with the general pattern of Australian native aromatic herbs. Digestive applications — using anise-family herbs to settle the stomach and reduce gas — are documented in traditional use and consistent with the known properties of the methyl chavicol compound family.
Sea Parsley / Sea Celery (Apium prostratum)
Sea celery grows wild along Australian coastlines and is one of the more distinctive native coastal herbs — the flavour is intensely celery-like, considerably stronger than cultivated celery, with a slightly saline character that reflects its coastal habitat. It was used as a food plant by coastal Aboriginal communities and is beginning to attract attention from native food producers and chefs for its bold flavour and coastal provenance.
In cooking: use as a flavouring in stocks, soups and fish dishes where cultivated celery would be used, at perhaps half the quantity due to the more intense flavour. The leaves can be used fresh in salads where a celery accent is wanted. The plant grows widely along the southern and eastern Australian coast and is easily identified (though correct identification before any foraging is always important).
Old Man Saltbush (Atriplex nummularia)
Saltbush leaves make an excellent savoury herb — the distinctive salty, mineral flavour works particularly well with meats (saltbush lamb is now a well-established premium product in Australian cuisine), in bread baking as a flavour addition, and in compound butters and sauces. The leaves can be used fresh or dried; dried leaves can be ground to a powder and used as a salt substitute or savoury seasoning.
The medicinal properties are covered in detail in our saltbush guide. The plant grows across most of inland Australia and is one of the most accessible native herbs for people in rural and regional areas.
For the connection between native herbs and food traditions more broadly, see our complete bush tucker guide.
Where to buy Australian native herbs
Native herbs and spices have moved from extreme niche to reasonably accessible over the past decade. Options now include:
Specialist native food retailers — companies including Outback Spirit, Kakadu Plum Co, and a growing number of Aboriginal-owned native food enterprises sell quality native herb and spice products online with national delivery. These are the best sources for both quality and the ethical provenance considerations discussed throughout this site.
Health food stores — lemon myrtle products in particular have become reasonably mainstream in health food store networks including Health Food and Holland & Barrett equivalents. Quality varies; look for products that specify the botanical source and Australian origin.
Native plant nurseries — growing your own is the most economical and most rewarding option. Lemon myrtle, river mint, anise myrtle, native thyme (Prostanthera species) and mountain pepper are all available as garden plants from specialist native plant nurseries nationally. A small native herb garden provides an ongoing supply at minimal cost and connects you to the living plant in a way no dried product can.