Wildflowers in the Desert

Hello Mother Dearest,
Seeing as its Spring now, the Sturt Desert Pea’s have sprung!
It’s a really special moment up here, because all we see year round is red dirt - haha!
Love Son #4 xox (Who works in a remote site in far north South Australia).

Sturt's Desert Pea (Swainsona Formosa) is the Floral Emblem of my home state South Australia. It occurs in arid woodlands and on open plains, often following heavy rain. It can also withstand the marked extremes of temperature experienced in the inland deserts - searing hot days & often light frosts at night.

The original collection was made in 1699 by William Dampier on Rosemary Island in the Dampier Archipelago in Western Australia, where he collected a specimen from & described it as :
'A creeping vine that runs along the ground ... and the blossom is like a bean blossom, but much larger and of a deep red colour looking very beautiful'.

The name commemorates Captain Charles Sturt (1795-1869) a notable Explorer of inland Australia, who in his early notes refers several times to the beauty of the desert pea in flower and the harsh nature of its habitat.
'We saw that beautiful flower in splendid blossom on the plains. It was growing amid barrenness and decay, but its long runners were covered with flowers that gave a crimson tint to the ground'.