In the wild, Backhousia citriodora occurs through coastal forest country from around Brisbane north towards Mackay.
Published Australian food-science literature records traditional Indigenous Australian use of Lemon Myrtle for cooking and healing. Detailed written accounts of specific preparations are limited, leaving parts of that earlier cultural history outside the surviving published record.
The species was formally published by Ferdinand von Mueller in 1859. By 1888, researchers examining its leaf oil were already reporting exceptionally high citral levels, foreshadowing the commercial interest that followed.
Lemon Myrtle later emerged as one of Australia's most recognisable native flavour plants, valued for a character that is distinctly its own rather than simply an imitation of citrus.
In 2022, Australia Post acknowledged that place in Australian food culture by featuring Backhousia citriodora in its Bush Seasonings stamp issue alongside Mountain Pepper and River Mint.
