Olive Pink Botanic Garden

OPBG FloraBean Tree Bush Hibiscus Bush Plum Caper Bush / Wild Passionfruit Dead Finish Ghost Gum Heart-leaved Frankenia Krichauff Ranges Fuchsia Mulga Needlewood Pink Fire-bush Potato Bush Prickly Wattle Red-Bud Mallee Shrubby Fox-tail (Ptilotus whitei) Sticky Hopbush (Dodonaea viscosa) Sturt’s Desert Rose Tall Saltbush Wild Tomato Wire-Leaf Mistletoe

Commonly known as ‘Bush passionfruit’ and the ‘Caper Bush’, the Capparis spinosa var. nummularia is not a passionfruit of the Passiflora spp. A more appropriate name is the ‘native caper’ or ‘bush caper’, as the central Australia species are closely related to the true caper bush.

When you look at the pulp of the fruit, you can see why it was given that common name, unlike the true caper bush, the mature fruit is the valued part of the plant and not the flower buds.

There are about five species here in Australia in the genus Capparis, with the Capparis spinosa var. nummularia considered the best for cultivation.

C. umbonata is regarded by the Aboriginal people in the region as having the best quality fruit, although it is rare, slow growing, has limited fruit production and spiny branches, all negatives for mass cultivation.

WARNING Extreme care must be taken when identifying edible food plants and those used in bush medicine. Some bush foods are only edible at different stages of the plant cycle, or when treated appropriately. Bush medicine should only be used under the guidance of a qualified physician. Information here is only provided for research. You should always seek experts in the field to confirm the identification of the plant and whether they are edible or appropriate.

Check out our Wild Passionfruit in our Flora section and Aboriginal symbol – the passion fruit.


  • Scientific classification
  • Kingdom: Plantae
  • Clade: Tracheophytes
  • Clade: Angiosperms
  • Clade: Eudicots
  • Clade: Rosids
  • Order: Brassicales
  • Family: Capparaceae
  • Genus: Capparis
  • Species: C. spinosa
  • Subspecies: C. s. subsp. nummularia
  • Trinomial name: Capparis spinosa subs

OPBG FloraBean Tree Bush Hibiscus Bush Plum Caper Bush / Wild Passionfruit Dead Finish Ghost Gum Heart-leaved Frankenia Krichauff Ranges Fuchsia Mulga Needlewood Pink Fire-bush Potato Bush Prickly Wattle Red-Bud Mallee Shrubby Fox-tail (Ptilotus whitei) Sticky Hopbush (Dodonaea viscosa) Sturt’s Desert Rose Tall Saltbush Wild Tomato Wire-Leaf Mistletoe

Olive Pink Botanic GardenOPBG Fauna OPBG Flora