Introduction

Nuytsia floribunda (Labill.) R.Br. ex G.Don (Loranthaceae) is a hemi-parasitic, small tree, endemic to the Southwest Australian Floristic Region (SWAFR), which broadly corresponds with the Country (Boodja) of the Noongar people (Figs. 1 and 2). It is of prominent cultural significance for Noongar peoples (Hansen and Horsfall 2019; Hopper 2010; Winmar 2009) and a well-known and loved taxon among the flora of southwestern Australia (e.g. Cunningham 2005, Nikulinsky and Nikulinsky 2012, Wege and Shepherd 2020). It is best known to the Merningar Noongar authors among us as Mungee, and we use this name interchangeably with its scientific name here-in.

Fig. 1
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Western Australian herbarium specimen records of Nuytsia floribunda across Noongar Boodja of southwestern Australia, southern Tjalyeraak (Eucalytpus pleurocarpa and E. extrica) range bounded to west by the Hay River and Israelite Bay to the east, described as Merningar Boodja by LK, as well as other places referred to in text

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Fig. 2
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(clockwise from top) Mungee in full post-fire flower, 7 December 2020, Stirling Range National Park (photo: SH); N. floribunda haustorium encircling rhizome of Lyginia barabata, Badgingarra National Park (photo: Mike Shane); three generations of Merningar Knapp family (left to right) Harrison Rodd-Knapp, Jessikah Woods, Lynette Knapp and Shandell Cummings with flowering Mungee near Waychinicup, December 2022 (photo: AL); N. floribunda flower with thynid wasps (winged male and flightless, attached and curled up female) present, 22 December 2016, Torndirrup National Park (photo: SH)

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In addition to the species’ great spiritual importance to Noongar people, the rhizomatous root architecture of Mungee is accessed as a sugary food source (Hansen and Horsfall 2019; Hopper 2010) as one of at least 400 geophyte taxa utilised by Noongar people (Lullfitz et al. 2022). It is a mistletoe, a geophyte and a tree of up to 10 m in height with unique morphology and biology, making it prominent not only in its southwest Australian kwongkan heathland habitat, but also globally among land plants (Der and Nickrent 2008; Hopper 2010; Pate 2001). The tree has multiple tap roots, consisting of turnip-like rhizomes up to approximately 85 cm in length and 45 cm diameter (Hopper 2010). It reproduces primarily through vegetative means, sending out suckers to > 100 m from lateral roots running off this deeply penetrating rhizome (Gobel 1975; Hopper 2010). Its hemiparasitic capability is via haustoria, which occur on lateral roots at the top of the soil profile where its hosts’ plant roots are most available. It accesses water, mineral nutrients, alkaloids and amino acids through connecting to the xylem of its hosts via a combination of two types of haustoria:- (1) short-lived, which attach to annual and short-lived host taxa over wetter seasons, and (2) long-lived, which attach to deep-rooted perennials (Hocking and Fineran 1983; Hopper 2010; Pate 2001) describes N. floribunda haustoria as highly unusual, comprising a sharp, sclerenchymatous cutting device which encircles and severs the host root transversely, and has been known to cut through telephone cables (Hopper 2010).

In 2010, one of our authors (SH) published a description of Nuytsia floribunda, including a review of its Noongar significance, its early documentation by Europeans, and its phylogeny, biology, ecology and systematics in Curtis’s Botanical Magazine. This description was comprehensive at that time compared to other scientific and historical accounts of the species. While SH had collaborated with some Whadjuk Noongar Elders at the time of writing, he had not done so extensively, and aspects relating to Mungee’s Noongar significance were sourced only from documented historical sources. Since 2010 we have worked together as a group of Noongar First Nations knowledge holders and Western scientists, using a two-way approach to explore and document insights relating to significant Noongar plant species and their multi-dimensional relationships within and with Noongar Boodja and people. This shared experience has led us to hypothesise that a two-way methodology can reveal new insights to our shared understanding of Nuytsia floribunda.

Indigenous Australian knowledge systems are inextricably place-based, with multiple threads that connect people, specific places, other organisms and non-living entities of Country, many of which are often not visible or even fathomable to people whose knowledge has evolved outside of such systems (Cameron 2022; Gay’wu Group of Women 2019). Central to this is an embeddedness of humans in ecological processes, as one of many components of Country, where humans are integral rather than privileged (Bawaka Country et al. 2013). Despite an increasing desire among ecologists to collaboratively engage with First Nations people, this relationality between entities is often not recognised by siloed, categorical and reductionist approaches of Western science (Cameron 2022). The emerging field of cross-cultural ecology (interchangeable with the term, two-way science) has potential to bridge this gap between knowledge systems through genuine two-way engagement in which Indigenous people and their knowledge are central (Ens and Turpin 2022). Such a cross-cultural approach to ecology not only deepens our contemporary ecological understanding, but also promotes Indigenous ways of knowing and supports societal healing following two centuries of heavy impact on First Nations cultures, peoples and families of European colonisation (Moggridge et al. 2019). Further, First Nations inclusion in on-Country ecological research can support opportunities for intergenerational sharing of traditional knowledge, leading to positive outcomes for Country and people (Daniels et al. 2022; Lullfitz et al. 2021; Robin et al. 2022).

In this review, we aimed to systematically revisit Hopper (2010) as a cross-cultural team and use two-way methodology (Johnston and Forrest 2020) to reveal insights of Mungee that may not have been evident to Hopper (2010) through an approach reliant primarily on Western science and historical literature. We expect that our findings can contribute to a shared understanding and approach to conservation of this species and the boodja to which it is integral, and also provide motivation for further cross-cultural botanical research.

Methods

Through all of its stages, this research was conducted through an Elder-led approach, under the cultural leadership of senior Merningar Elder, LK, with the review, analysis and writing stages each being executed by AL through an iterative process with LK and other authors. Three previously unpublished oral history video records taken during shared author visits on Country where Mungee was discussed (LK, SC, SH, AL) were reviewed and included where relevant. Information drawn from these interviews and from a review of literature was discussed by all authors together at a workshop on Merningar Boodja. All interviews, the workshop and iterative collaboration during writing were carried out under University of Western Australia human research ethics approval RA/4/20/6165.

A review of documented Noongar and Western scientific knowledge of Mungee published since Hopper (2010) was carried out. The review was carried out using both systematic and snowball methods based on the search terms ‘Nuytsia floribunda’, ‘Moodjar’, ‘Moodja’, ‘Moojar’, ‘Mooja’, ‘Munjee’ and ‘Mungee’ to search titles, abstracts and full text in Google Scholar, Web of Knowledge, Scopus and Informit. Several further publications were identified through authors’ prior knowledge.

An author workshop including LK, Merningar knowledge holder and LK’s daughter (SC) and Merningar woman and SC’s daughter (JW) as well as Western scientists (SH and AL) was held at a Knapp family campsite at Waychinicup in December 2022. Each of the 14 topics covered by Hopper (2010) were addressed in discussion between authors. Both traditional and contemporary Merningar insights, as well as scientific findings documented since 2010 were discussed and related to Hopper’s (2010) findings. The workshop followed a yarning approach, with conversation being allowed to naturally flow. Although only loosely sequential, the 14 heading topics presented by Hopper (2010) were utilised as a guiding framework for conversation and also as the basis for presenting new insights that emerged during the workshop discussion, previously recorded oral history sessions and the literature review (Table 1).

Table 1 Insights on Nuytsia floribunda relating to each of Hopper’s headings drawn from review of post-Hopper 2010 published findings, unpublished On-Country interviews between LK and SH, and author workshop held at Waychinicup in December 2022
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During the workshop, orally transmitted knowledge was video recorded and then subsequently transcribed. In addition, our youngest co-author (JW) recorded the conversation through scribing and sketching throughout the workshop and subsequently produced a visual representation of the conversation (Fig. 3).

Fig. 3
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JW’s visual expression of the authors’ workshop in December 2022, showing the talking circle (also a campsite) at Waychinicup (bottom left) which is surrounded by granite hills (bottom right). Blue circles represent the fresh water present, while the linear blue colour depicts Waychinicup as on a coastal biddi (path). The largest blue circle, the images of the kylie (boomerang) and basket show it is an important place for gathering resources, from both the land and the estuary. In the left hand corner is a small Mungee flower and above the talking circle is a Mungitch (Banksia sp.) flower as these are prominent in the vegetation and often grow with Mungee. On the lower right is a green Mungee stick used for smoking spirits (see smoke above) and assisting them on their journey to Kurranup, their resting place existing between the sea and sky (represented directly above). An entire Mungee tree in flower is shown at the top left of the drawing, in which we can see the finger-like, youngest suckers and the wedding ring-like haustoria, both sought after as sweet, sugary treats. At the top right are some of the key English words mentioned during the workshop, and some in Noongar below. These translate as follows: bwurr = roots; moort = family; beruc = hot, summer season; wej (pronounced waitch) = emu; gab gwal = fresh water; borongor = totem; ngok = sugar; beeuk = finger. The more widely used term for Nuytsia floribunda, Moodjar has been used in the drawing

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LK describes Merningar Country as extending along the southern coast of southwestern Australia from Israelite Bay in the east to the Hay River in the west, and as far inland to the edge of the range of Talyeraak (Eucalyptus pleurocarpa and E. extrica). This also coincides with the northern edge of the Eocene sandplains which extend along the coast and aligns with the South East Coastal Floristic Province (Gioia and Hopper 2017). Waychinicup was chosen by the Merningar authors as our workshop location, as it is a significant place for family members with a long history of visitation and camping, is a calm place of healing, and also where significant burials have occurred. The name Waychinicup relates to an emu dreaming story, translating to English as waytch (emu), jenna (foot), up (place). The workshop was deliberately undertaken during the south coast Noongar season of Beeruk, when the Mungee tree is usually beginning to flower. However, while Mungee are numerous at Waychinicup, all authors were surprised to find none were flowering on the day of the workshop.

Results

Key yarning topics addressed during the author workshop recorded by JW are represented in Fig. 3. These particularly relate to the role of Mungee in the spiritual realm as a connector between the living world and the afterlife, the specific parts of the root system targeted for Ngook (sugary haustoria) and the species’ relationship to people, other plants and places on Merningar Boodja. The place of our discussion (Waychinicup), its physical and cultural features, and the yarning circle itself is also represented in JW’s portrayal.

Information relating to Mungee drawn from the literature review, LK’s previously recorded oral history, and the author workshop discussion is presented in Table 1 under the headings presented by Hopper (2010). For simplicity, in two instances, two of Hopper’s original headings were combined to one. As such, Hopper’s original 14 headings are covered in 12 included headings in Table 1. Of Hopper’s (2010) headings, those most heavily addressed through our two-way approach included ‘Aboriginal knowledge and use’, ‘hemiparisitism’, ‘phylogeny’ and ‘Nuytsia and testing OCBIL theory’. A final column in this table is included to capture relational discussion points during the workshop that were not specifically about Nuytsia floribunda.

Discussion

As expected, insights that have not been previously or extensively recorded about Nuytsia floribunda emerged through our two-way exploration of this species. As well as being two-way, our exploration was also intergenerational, which increased the depth to our workshop discussions, and enabled a visual expression of both Mungee and our yarning circle in context intertwined with other aspects of Merningar Country.

Status of Mungee in Noongar culture

A belief of sacredness of Nuytsia floribunda to Noongar peoples has been previously well-documented. Our review highlights this belief as widely held throughout the species’ range from Yued to Merningar Noongar Country. Merningar knowledge holders describe Munjee as being of higher status than other plants. It holds important lore relating to people, Country and our relationships and behaviour, and can be likened to a cornerstone religious text such as the Christian bible. LK describes herself as coming from Merningar soil and an integral part of Merningar Boodja, describing Mungee as an important teacher of how to exist in this way. In particular, Mungee allows both cherishing and revering the annual revisiting of her ancestors to their Boodja when the Mungee is in flower, and providing a powerful means through which to assist restless spirits to move to the afterlife, enabling the living to exist untroubled by such spirits.

Noongar use as a food source

While digging of Nuytsia floribunda roots as a Noongar food source has been previously well-documented (e.g. Hassell 1975), to the best of our knowledge, specific targeting of Mungee haustoria for ngook as described by LK has not been previously documented. LK described how to dig under the soil in a way that targets both the haustoria and root tissue of the emerging shoots, highlighting the biological knowledge required in order to access such resources. A parallel between the increased availability of haustoria during wetter months and rules relating to seasonality of accessing such resources (i.e. not digging roots during flowering) also emerged through two-way exploration.

Two-way science

During our discussion, Merningar authors iterated a feeling that people should not deliberately cultivate Mungee and that it should be protected where it grows, which is often on kaarts (hills) and in kwongkan but may also be in sandy soils of wetlands and woodlands. Similar to descriptions of specific organisms integral to Country by other Australian First Nations peoples (Gay’wu Group of Women 2019; Wooltorton et al. 2014), LK describes Mungee as holding a particular story specific to where it is growing, and that it can only tell that story if it grows there. Figure 3, which shows Mungee in the context of Merningar relationships with the place of our workshop, Waychinicup, as well as the role of this place within the whole of Merningar Country, gives us perspective from this knowledge system. Walters et al. (2020) and Walters et al. (2022) on the other hand revealed that across its range, N. floribunda populations too hold their own stories of place written within their DNA. Walters et al. (2022) warned of a possible reduction in overall genetic diversity of the species through movement of genetic materials between populations. This corresponds with a Merningar view that Mungee should not be cultivated, but rather, should be protected in-situ, and coincides with predictions of OCBIL species that populations are strongly differentiated and an in-situ approach is essential to species conservation (Hopper 2009).

LK’s observation of only one pollinating bird species (the Western Wattlebird, Anthochaera lunulata) and lack of reptiles in the canopy of Mungee, when compared to other kwongkan species with prominent nectar producing flowers (e.g. Banksia spp) is highly relevant to scientific debate regarding pollination mechanisms of Nuytsia, and supports a hypothesis of reliance on insect rather than vertebrate pollination (see Fig. 2).

In addition to deepening our collective understanding of Mungee ecology, our research method, in particular inclusion of a dedicated on-Country workshop, was an opportunity for all authors to develop their knowledge, and connections to Boodja and one another. This research was an opportunity to maintain and strengthen Merningar intergenerational knowledge, with three generations of the Knapp family participating in the on-Country workshop, and also contributing as authors to this paper. While the author group has worked together over several years, each shared experience on Country provides an opportunity for genuine two-way learning and reflection, for scientists to gain deeper understanding of Merningar protocols, language and knowledge systems, and for Merningar knowledge holders to access scientifically-derived knowledge about aspects of traditional Country.

Munjee as an exemplar

During our discussion, SC made a powerful link between the clonal habit of Mungee and the communal kinship structure of Noongar people. Despite inhabiting a wide range across southwestern Australia, Mungee has a preference to reproduce clonally and for localised seed distribution. This is somewhat analogous with a kinship structure in which survival is based around being part of a group, rather than as an individual, and for extended families to live in largely discreet groups, interconnected with other groups within a wider geopolitical system. We also talked at depth of parallels between Mungee’s ability to access multiple hosts and the highly place-based nature of Noongar society and adaptability of Noongar people. With its numerous and multi-faceted relationships with both humans and other organisms, its adaptability to multiple habitats through a wide host range and buffered climatic tolerance, and its widely hemiparasitic and nutrient recycling capabilities well-suited to nutrient poor, seasonally dry and highly edaphic conditions (Pate et al. 2020; Walters et al. 2020). In this way, Mungee offers an exemplar of putting community before the individual in order for positive societal outcomes and an existence bounded within environmental parameters. Mungee is a botanical analogue for Noongar peoples’ survival and prosperity across their Boodja. Just as an exceptionally wide host range enables Mungee to live across a large range of vegetation communities, the sophisticated, but often place-specific knowledge of Noongar peoples across their botanically rich Boodja has enabled utilisation of a wide breadth of traditional plant resources (e.g. 400 + geophytes in Noongar use estimated by Lullfitz et al. 2022). Lore around seasonality of resource access, an annual reminder from ancestors to respect Boodja, and provision of inspirited safe havens for resources are all further parameters set for the integral role of Noongar in Noongar Boodja, providing a lesson for us all about how to live sustainably in southwestern Australia.

A tree to be celebrated

The biological uniqueness, ingenuity and charisma of Mungee has long been recognised by Noongar peoples and their lore and for this reason we suggest that it should be widely celebrated. Its annual floristic display is a memorial to the many old people who have cared for their Boodja through millennia and a reminder to us all to continue this legacy. As has long been the case for Merningar, it provides an example to all of us of how to prosper within and as a part of biologically rich but nutrient poor Country.