Australia’s Wildflower Spectacular
BY “AWAKE!” CORRESPONDENT IN AUSTRALIA
Every year from August through November—springtime in the Southern Hemisphere—thousands of visitors, including botanists and other scientists, flock to the state of Western Australia. Coach tours operate into the heart of the southwest and north. Special trains loaded with sightseers journey slowly into the outback. Many local residents also head for the open country. What brings such a sudden influx of tourists? Why, it is wildflower time in Western Australia—truly a wildflower spectacular!
HERE in its natural setting can be seen one of the world’s richest displays of natural flora, and for three months large areas of the state are ablaze with native wildflowers. In fact, it has been billed in the media as “one of the greatest wildflower spectaculars in the world.” Why is the setting for this spectacular different from any other country?
Flora, Unique and Diverse
One reason is that oceans and seas have long isolated the Australian continent from contact with other continents. Maybe it is because of its unique setting that many botanists are convinced that this large island continent has the most diverse flora in the world. Nowhere is this unique diversity more evident than in Western Australia, where in spring the country comes alive in an ecstatic display of blooms.
Western Australia is the continent’s largest state. It covers 975,000 square miles [2.5 million sq km]—as large as Western Europe and more than three times the size of Texas, U.S.A. As a result, it has a great diversity of scenery and climate. After good winter rains, there bursts forth a variety show ranging from the velvety and refined Sturt’s desert pea to the papery and ubiquitous everlasting.
Most of the wildflowers bloom in August and September. Some species, however, require more warmth for growth and do not bloom until October or November. An impressive 8,000 species are known to occur in the state. Species range from one of the largest hardwood trees, the karri, to the smallest parasitic plant, Pilostyles. The diversity also includes the world’s only fully underground orchid, Rhizanthella gardneri. Then there are some of the purest blue flowers—one named Lechenaultia biloba, and another called Dampiera, named after the pirate William Dampier. There are also several black flowering plants such as the black kangaroo paw. New species are continually being found—so much so that one excited botanist made the extravagant suggestion that it may be possible to find a new species every day!
Business Also Blooms
Not surprisingly a wildflower industry has grown and blossomed around this annual spectacle. At least 14 wildflower festivals are held each year. Tourists are taken on walking safaris, pastoralists open their remote properties to visitors, jewelry manufacturers produce wildflower designs, and artists give attention to botanical detail as they prepare illustrations for books soon to be published. The industry also has plans to sell picked wildflowers on the international market. But how can they be kept fresh?
A special technique has been developed to maintain the wildflowers’ original texture and perfume. It involves a secret solution that slows the development and decay of the flowers. This allows workers to pick the wildflowers just before the flowers bud and then to ship them overseas where the preharvesting solution is diluted by soaking the cuttings in water, thus allowing the flowers to resume their progress toward blooming.
While it is true that business may be blossoming, not everyone is happy at wildflower time. For example, hay-fever sufferers may see these months through watery eyes as they uncomfortably sneeze their way into summer. At times, too, the pollen produces strange phenomena. Consider what happened in 1992. After heavy rains and mild temperatures, residents in some towns were startled to be inundated with a bright yellow downpour. It covered cars, carpeted roadsides, and lined gutters. This yellow rain was identified by environmental authorities as wildflower pollen. Apparently the pollen rain had blown in from the wildflowers blooming in the midwest. Notwithstanding these difficulties, however, most will agree that the beauty and benefits of the yearly spectacular outweigh the inconveniences.
Follow the Wildflower Trails
Come with us now on a wildflower-discovery tour. The first wildflower trail takes us south of the state capital, Perth, to Serpentine National Park. The park is situated on an escarpment plateau and is extremely hilly. Its river, which flows through steep gullies and sheer granite outcrops, finally spills over a 50-foot [15 m] waterfall. Among the jarrah and wandoo trees, kangaroos and wallabies feed while golden whistlers, splendid wrens, and thornbills square dance in the undergrowth. Rock pools play host to sundews and blue fairy orchids, and nearby lies an eiderdown of pale-mauve granite honeymyrtle, patched with masses of tiny cream trymalium and the startling combinations of mauve calytrix and blue andersonia.
We now head farther south to perhaps the most fruitful and popular wildflower spot—Stirling Range National Park. This 445-square-mile [1,150 sq km] range rises abruptly to Bluff Knoll, the highest peak, which reaches 3,534 feet [1,077 m] above sea level. The climate here differs from the surrounding district. As a result, more than 1,500 species of flowering plants occur naturally here, and 60 of these are peculiar to this area. Next, climbing Toolbrunup Peak we are provided with magnificent views and varied plant life. Among the most beautiful are Darwinias, or mountain bells. Ten species have so far been identified in the park, and only one of these is known to grow outside the Stirling Range. In September and October the beautiful shady bell is easy to find in dense woodlands, while higher up the slopes grows the pink mountain bell. We also spot a rare green spider orchid and note that there are 23 species in Western Australia.
Since we are nearby, we decide to take the short trip to Torndirrup National Park. Here the heathland puts on a grand display. We spy Banksia praemorsa with its unusually deep brown flowers—and look! A mouse-size honey possum feeding on some of the wildflowers. Here, too, are the hammer orchid blossoms producing a strong scent to pose as female wasps. They attract the male thynnid wasp who in his search for a mate, carries the seed to a succession of spurious females. The poor wasp’s unrequited love assists in pollination.
Let’s Now Head North
Having seen some of the principal wildflower areas south of Perth, we now head north to follow the Everlasting Trail—a route that takes us through a number of national parks. Of course the starchy everlastings, the tour’s namesake, are out by their thousands, nodding agreeably as their heads are patted by the passing wind. We stop at a country cemetery where green and red kangaroo paws adorn the old gravestones. Next, the woodlands are dominated by firewood banksia, slender, and Christmas morrison—a shrub flower with brilliant golden blooms. Have you seen the cowslip orchids blooming? Beautiful! We stroll through the shrublands, and the blue smokebush takes our breath away.
On this trail, there are 800 flowering species at hand. Many of the most stunning species are right on the roadside, visible from our four-wheel-drive vehicle. Visitors have often remarked that some of the roadside displays are so colorfully coordinated that it is hard to believe that human intervention was not involved. Yes, clumps of mauve tinsel flowers with bushes of yellow look so well planned, and there is no shortage of trendy blues.
But now it is time to head for home. We are pleased with the memories we have tucked away in our camera; therefore, we resist the temptation to break off one or two blossoms as a souvenir. We remember that it is forbidden by law for the public to pick wildflowers, even those growing by the road. So we leave their upturned faces to be washed by the next spring rain and to be enjoyed by the next admirer. Yes, we have been treated to one of the greatest floral shows on earth. And as the scenery changes to burnished summer, we look forward with pleasure to the same performance next year, and indeed, for many years to come.
[Picture Credit Line on page 17]
All photos: By Courtesy of West Australian Tourist Commission