Nardoo (Marsilea drummondii)

Nardoo is a type of fern found in all states of Australia. Able to grow in dry ground at the edges of water, it is also aquatic and thrives in areas that are regularly flooded. Fruits are light-brown sporocarps, and usually appear when water recedes. Spores can be gathered and eaten as food by first roasting then grinding them between stones to remove black husks, leaving a powder that is mixed with water (causing expansion) to make a damper cooked in the ashes of a fire. The powder mixed with water can also be eaten uncooked as a gruel.

Soure: Indigenous plant use; A booklet on the medicinal, nutritional and technological use of indigenous plants; By Zena Cumpston; Clean Air and Urban Landscapes (CAUL) Hub in Melbourne 2020