Australia gave the world the macadamia. Now the wild trees are disappearing.
Macadamias evolved here millions of years ago and were tended by First Nations peoples for tens of thousands of years. Today, over 80% of wild macadamia habitat has been cleared. The trees grown for their nuts are thriving – but the original wild trees are struggling to survive. Wild Macadamia Conservation exists to protect them and the rich biodiversity of the sub-tropical forests they call home.
The Macadamia history book
The Macadamia ~ Australia’s Gift To The World by Ian McConachie AM. Ian has donated the book and all proceeds from its sale to protect macadamias and their rainforest habitat. Originally enjoyed …
See Wild Macadamias
They’re not always easy to spot so here are some places you can see them in Botanic Gardens, or in the wild.
Where are wild Macadamias found?
Which macadamias grow near me? Use the Wild Macadamias App to find out if you live on or near macadamia habitat, and if so, which are your local species. The App shows all the macadamia sitings in our …
Our organisation
In July 2025, the Macadamia Conservation Trust became Wild Macadamia Conservation, an independent charity and registered environmental organisation dedicated to: Supporting and conserving …
Why conserve macadamias?
Macadamias originated in the rainforest on the east coast of Australia and Australia is the only country in the world where they naturally grow in the wild. There are four species of …
The four macadamias
There are four species of Macadamia, two with edible nuts and two without…. There are four species of Macadamia, two of which are used for production of Macadamia nuts in Australia and …
Donate to Macadamia Conservation
Help us protect the remaining wild macadamias.
Which insects visit Bush Nuts in the forest?
Bush Nuts can be difficult to find scattered along rugged forested slopes, so this project will train machine learning to search satellite imagery for likely habitat. Once a range of remote …
How to seed bank when you can’t bank seeds
Like many large, fatty seeds, macadamia nuts are not easy to store longer than a few years and still grow into a tree. This project looks at alternative ways of storing macadamia genetic material so …
Which soil fungi live in and around Bush Nuts?
Trees are part of a complex web of life and yet we know very little about what goes on in and around the roots of macadamia trees. This project investigates the fungi that lives around Bush Nuts, …