Kakadu plum is the yellow-green, egg-shaped fruit of Terminalia ferdinandiana, a small tree native to northern Australia. Despite its name, it belongs to the Terminalia genus, not Prunus, which includes familiar European plums.
The fruit has high but variable vitamin C content and longstanding cultural and food significance for Aboriginal communities, including Bininj/Mungguy people in Kakadu.
A northern Australian fruit
Kakadu plum grows across parts of the Northern Territory, Queensland and Western Australia. It is also known as billygoat plum or green plum. In Kakadu National Park, Parks Australia records flowering from August to October and fruit appearing around March to May. These dates describe Kakadu and do not necessarily apply across the tree’s full range.
Kakadu plum vitamin C content
Kakadu plum is among the most vitamin-C-rich documented fruits. A report measured vitamin C in Kakadu plum. Parks Australia describes it as having about 50 times the vitamin C of oranges, a popular comparison that should be treated as approximate.
The amount varies between fruit and growing locations. A 2024 study of wild fruit from Western Australia measured 380 to 1,973 milligrams per 100 grams of fresh fruit at Karajarri sites, and 800 to 1,930 milligrams at Yawuru sites. Dried fruit has higher figures per 100 grams because drying removes water, so fresh and dried measurements are not directly comparable.
Plant compounds and health claims
Researchers have also measured ellagic acid, ellagitannins and other plant compounds in Kakadu plum. Laboratory studies report antioxidant and antimicrobial activity, but these results do not show that eating the fruit prevents or treats disease. A 2025 review of research into skin protection found that the evidence was largely preclinical, with direct human evidence lacking.
A high vitamin C figure does not establish a medical benefit. Product amounts also depend on whether the plum is fresh, dried or processed.
Cultural uses and harvest
Parks Australia documents Kakadu plum as an important food for Bininj/Mungguy people. Ripe fruit is eaten raw and can be made into jam. The source also describes customary uses of the tree’s inner bark and red sap. These practices are part of cultural knowledge; they should not be presented as clinical evidence of treatment.
Harvesting also has economic and stewardship dimensions. Australia’s 2025 State of the Forests report says broad, uniform overharvesting was assessed as a low risk in the assessment it cites, while localised overharvesting remained a concern at accessible, high-density sites. It reports that the Northern Australia Aboriginal Kakadu Plum Alliance harvested more than 20 tonnes, worth $650,000 at farm gate, in the 2018–19 season. Those figures apply to that season, not current annual production.