Read about the artist and view more paintings by Louise Numina here

Bush Medicine is an important subject for many paintings by Aboriginal women. For many thousands of years, Aboriginal people have known about the healing qualities of plants. The gathering of these plants, their use in traditional medicine, and the performance of ceremonies to ensure their abundance form a strong component of the spiritual responsibilities of Aboriginal women.

The medicine bush leaves depicted were originally of the Kurrajong tree of which there are some 30 varieties dating back 50 million years.  They scale from small shrubs to massive trees some 30 metres in height.

In the larger trees their trunks are used to store water but it is the leaves that have the medicinal purposes.

The paste is used to heal a multitude of afflictions such as bites, wounds, skin infections, rashes and skin cancer.  The bush leaves are also boiled in hot water to make an infusion, or healing tea.

Other preparations were used as insect repellent or were thrown into the water to stun the fish