The summer flush produces fruit of oblong berries up to 30 mm long, initially green in colour and covered in fine hair - somewhat akin to a tiny kiwifruit in appearance.

A cladistic analysis of the genus in 2004 resulted in an expanded circumscription of this species, encompassing material that was previously placed in B. angustifolia, B. brachyantha, B. daphnoides, B. latifolia and B. canariensis.

The fruits, which only ripen after dropping to the ground, are valued as an Australian bush food and are variously described as tasting like stewed apples or kiwifruit.

Botanist Joseph Maiden noted in 1898 that children of European settlers in the Port Jackson area, where it is commonly found, had been eating the berries since the foundation of the settlement in 1788.

"[8] Apple berry is a popular choice in Australian gardens, especially those favouring indigenous plants as a rambling yet non-dominant shrub, especially beneath eucalypts and between other native species.