In Australia’s sandy southwestern corner, a barely perceptible topography stretches as far as the eye can see. Even spiny, knee-high bushes can’t cloak the skeletal soil, and in summer the heat is so intense that haze swallows the horizon, and wind is the only sound to be heard.
The kwongan is a biological marvel in southwestern Australia that bursts into bloom each spring. This habitat has been designated one of the world’s 25 most biodiverse regions and is home to more than 3,600 plant species. About 2,700 species here cannot be found anywhere else on Earth. The photographs on the following pages were taken in two areas within 100 miles of Perth.
But a closer look reveals one of the most diverse plant communities on Earth. In spring the land bursts into uncountable blooms of breathtaking color and shape. The Nyungar natives of Australia named this region the kwongan, and today its blossoms attract tourists from around the world.
My first view of this bizarre ecosystem came in 1973 from the seat of an Italian Moto Guzzi motorcycle I had ridden from my home in Australia’s southeast, more than 2,000 miles away. For several days I traveled relentlessly across the featureless Nullarbor Plain on a national highway that had not yet been paved. As I entered the better-watered southwest, the scenery refused to improve. The monotonous kwongan baked under a harsh sun. Many of the plants were perched on stilt roots that held their main stems a few centimeters above the surface, as if the soil had eroded under them. It hadn’t, but like most things here, no one has a satisfactory explanation for it.
