Bush Banana Dreaming

THIS Dreaming is a family inherited story about Yuparli (wild bush bananas). The green oval shaped fruit is very sweet and comes from Tanami Desert Country (mid Northern Territory) where the Bush Bananas grow on spikey climbing vines near waterholes and bush. Being not a self-standing plant, it has to wind itself around trees and shrubs to stay vertical. It buds with fluffy flowers before fruiting.

Says Leanne: 'Yuparli are very healthy for us and we like to collect them for everyone. The old people like them too. Sometimes we put them on the coals and warm them up. They grow up fast after rain in the bush and we take the kids out to collect them.'

Leanne Oldfield wields her brush with mesmerising skill to celebrate this prized fruit in the form of this dreaming.