Artwork 65B A Week in the Life of Sturt’s Desert Pea: Flower Buds Starting to Open—Sturt’s Desert Pea
Section 31
Plants of the Arid Zone—Desert Virtuosi
South Australia
- 1. Swainsona formosa (Sturt’s desert pea)
from the artist
A superstar of the South Australian desert is “Sturt’s desert pea” (Swainsona formosa). On a visit to the arid zone Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary, I discovered many flowering examples glowing scarlet and black against the brilliant blue sky and ochre cliffs.
Swainsona is a genus of 85 species confined to mainland Australia, and formosa comes from the Latin for “handsome” or “beautiful” (Symon & Jusaitis, 2007, pp. 27, 33).
Although the pea family (Fabaceae) are relative newcomers, they were still well-established in the fossil record by the Eocene (55–34 mya) with fossil flowers and fruits. There is some evidence to suggest a Late Cretaceous (65 mya) arrival, from their fossil pollen grains (Kenrick & Davis, 2004, p. 203). In Australia, evidence from coastal Queensland to the South-West of Western Australia confirms at least an Eocene presence (Crisp et al., 1999, p. 293; White, 1994/1998, pp. 110, 120).
Inspired by the striking colours of this pea and its many variations (red and brown, white and green, white and red, and various other combinations) I purchased a plant to grow and witness the total life cycle, which I sketched and photographed over a week or so.
The series of four round watercolour paintings A Week in the Life of Sturt’s Desert Pea is the result of this study.
Flower Buds Starting to Open—Sturt’s Desert Pea follows the peas as they slowly open.
