What Is an Ooray Plum? The Rainforest Plum of Far North Queensland

If you have typed "ooray plum" into Google, you are probably trying to work out what this fruit actually is. Here is the short answer: ooray is the Queensland Davidson's plum, Davidsonia pruriens, a native rainforest fruit from tropical Far North Queensland. It is deep bluish purple on the outside, vivid crimson inside, and famously tart. It also happens to grow in the same part of the world as our distillery, which is why we make a gin with it.

What is an ooray plum?

Ooray is one of Australia's native plums, though it is not closely related to the plums you find in a supermarket. It grows on a slender rainforest tree that can reach about twelve metres, and the fruit hangs in clusters straight from the trunk and branches, which looks as unusual as it sounds. Each fruit is around five centimetres across with soft purple skin and striking blood red flesh.

The flavour is the memorable part. Ooray is intensely tart and acidic, closer to a wild sour plum than a dessert fruit. Most people would not eat one straight from the tree. Cooks prize it for exactly that reason: the sharpness carries through jams, cordials, sauces and desserts in a way sweeter fruit cannot.

Where does it grow?

Ooray is native to the tropical rainforests of north eastern Queensland, roughly from Cardwell up to Cooktown, from sea level to over a thousand metres. That range takes in the rainforest country around the Atherton Tablelands, where our distillery sits at Walkamin. The fruit has been gathered and eaten by Aboriginal people of these rainforests for a very long time, and ooray is the name in common use for it across the region alongside Davidson's plum.

How we use ooray at Mt Uncle

We steep whole ooray plums into our gin at the distillery. The fruit does all the work: the deep crimson colour of Botanic Australis Ooray Plum Gin comes entirely from the plums, along with the jammy berry depth and the bright tart finish that balances it. The gin sits at 31 percent, and the IWSC has awarded it Bronze in 2022 and 2023 and Silver in 2024.

If you want to taste what an ooray plum actually does, this is the most enjoyable way we know to find out.

How to serve it

• Ruby grapefruit, a sprig of thyme and Fever-Tree light tonic over plenty of ice.

• As a spritz, where the tartness of the fruit does the job citrus usually does.

• Simply over ice, where the colour speaks for itself.

Common questions

Is ooray the same as Davidson's plum?

Yes. Ooray is the Queensland Davidson's plum, Davidsonia pruriens, the tall northern species of the Davidson's plum family. The names are used interchangeably in Far North Queensland.

Can you eat ooray plums raw?

You can, but they are extremely tart. The fruit shines when it is cooked, preserved or, in our case, steeped into gin.

Where can I try it?

Taste how we use the fruit in Botanic Australis Ooray Plum Gin, explore the rest of the Botanic Australis range, or visit the cellar door at Mt Uncle Distillery in Walkamin on the Atherton Tablelands. If you are planning something bigger than a tasting, the distillery also hosts private functions from 6pm, for birthdays, corporate events and staff parties. The gin house also has its own home at botanicaustralis.com.