Floral Emblem of South Australia .Protected in South Australia.
Swainsona- after Isaac Swainson who maintained a private botanic garden at Twickenham near London about the year 1789.
Formosa – Latin for beautiful.
Captain Charles Sturt (1795-1869) noted the occurrence of Swainsona formosa in 1844.
“we saw that beautiful flower the Clianthus formosa in splendid blossom on the plains. It was growing amid barrenness and decay, but its long runners were covered with flowers that gave a crimson tint to the ground”.
Flowers 9 cm long in clusters of six to eight. Petals , blood red or scarlet with a glossy black swelling . Other colour forms range from white to deep pink, with or without a black swelling. Rarely a bicoloured form.
All australian states except Victoria