plants
AUSTRALIAN Desert Shrublands & Grasslands

The surprising color of the plants of the Australian deserts...

Order Curcubitales

Family Curcurbitaceae

Citrullus colocynthis, 'Colocynthis', 'Bitter Cucumber' (Nalland Station). Introduced from northern Africa & Mediterranean.

Order Fabales

Sub/Family Fabaceae

Swainsona formosa, 'Sturt's Desert Pea', (Kings Park, Western Australia).

Order Caryophyllales

Family Montiaceae

Calandrinia polyandra, 'Parakeelya'  (Kings Park, Western Australia). Succulent crawling herb. Found in arid areas in most Australian states.

Family Amaranthaceae

Tecticornia sp. 'Samphires'

Except for one species, the 'Samphires' are found only in Australia. They are small shrubs. Their leaves and stems have a jointed segmented appearance and are fleshy. These plants are found in and adapted to high salt situations, such as the edge of mangroves, mudflats, saline and dry lakes, and deserts.

Tecticornia sp. 'Samphire' (Lake King, Western Australia).

Order Lamiales

Family Scrophulariaceae

Eremophila sp. 'Emu Bushes', 'Poverty Bushes'

The flowers of some Eremophilas have colourful petals to attract pollinators, which then droop, fade and then fall off, to reveal a different but equally colourful set of sepals to attract seed dispersers...  

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Thinking of travelling again after everything settles down? The first expedition I am booked to work on after the virus is New Guinea & Indonesia in 2021 with Silversea.