Sturt’s Desert Pea
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.
Their brilliant colours almost seem at odds with the terrain in which they grow. The brilliant red flowers with the black centre are the most common form, but in our travels through the remote Pilbara region of Western Australia we were privileged to see the red and pink centred varieties and, finally, the very rare pale centred variety which, to our knowledge, grows wild only in the Cape Range National Park, a coastal strip adjoining the Ningaloo reef on North West Cape, WA.
The large luminous flowers of this plant are highly photogenic, as you can see. The Australian bush abounds in members of the legume family, many with beautiful flowers. Although the Sturt’s Desert Pea is undeniably the most stunning, there are many other breathtaking specimens, and we will feature these in a separate gallery.
The Sturt Desert Pea is awesome! The first time I saw it in Flinders SA, upon my sream of delight our driver came to a screeching holt in a cloud of red dust for me to jump out of the car and run in delight to meet it in person…the energy of this plant is extraordinary to say the least…glad you enjoyed your encounter.