The Sturt's Desert Pea is found in the sandy red tracts of arid inland Australia where it flowers after a good rain. We were fortunate to see it in bloom while we were in the Tibooburra area of New South Wales.

This is the only Australian species of Clianthus. The name means finely formed or elegant. It is an annual or biennial, which grows prostrate, spreading across the ground and sending the flower clusters erect. The Sturt desert pea is found in the desert areas of Australia, mainly in places where grazing has not occurred.

According to the legend of this desert pea, the warrior lover of a beautiful Aboriginal maiden gave her a cloak of red feathers. During a draught the warrior wandered far looking for food while the maiden kept a lonely vigil. The tribe soon moved on and their last view of the girl was of her black hair contrasting with her red cloak as she knelt in prayer awaiting her lover's return. When the tribe later returned to that place, there was no sign of the girl but a lovely red and black flower blossomed where she had last been seen.

This flower was called the Desert Pea in her honor.

Clianthus formosus (both)