Spring has definitely arrived early this year in Alice Springs. Everywhere you look, native shrubs are in flower, the birds are building nests and the hills still have a greenish tinge after consistent rainfall all this year. It is gorgeous. We are even getting a few days now above 20 degrees, although the nights remain cool. Who would be anywhere else?!
Western Australia is deservedly famous for its wildflowers. One of the first things you notice upon travelling through WA is the soil, if you could call it that. Most of WA is sandy and dry, and at first glance appears unlikely to support much in the way of plant life. Yet travel through the state during the springtime and you will be astounded at the range of wildlfowers on display, especially if there have been good winter rains. We wondered whether the range of flowers was in some part due to the high mineral content of the sandy ground.
Mention the Pilbara, and the first plant to spring to my mind is the Mulla Mulla. We first travelled through the Pilbara in 2008, a year renowned for its wildflowers in Western Australia. We were amazed at the variety of Mulla Mulla on display. I recall seeing at least a dozen different species, many of which we have been unable to identify in our reference books and on the net. There were fields of Mulla Mulla, and bushes over 1 metre high, shaped like elegant candelabra, and covered in blooms. At the time I felt I was overindulgent in terms of the photos I took, but look back now and wish I’d taken more.
The Sturt’s Desert Pea is the most famous Australian member of this family, and rightly so; we have a separate Post for that plant.. But there are many other beautful wildflowers in the family. Some are tiny – with flowers around 1cm long, while the largest shown in this gallery belong to the Native Bird Plant, with its unusual green flowers. Some of the photos are a little out of focus, because at the time I didn’t have a camera with a macro (close-up) lens.
The Sturt’s Desert Pea must surely be one of the most stunning wildflowers of the Australian bush. When first spotted them, growing next to the highway on our way in to Broken Hill, we almost ran off the road in our excitement.
