History
Specimens of Sturt's Desert Pea were first collected by William Dampier who recorded his first sighting on 22 August 1699. These specimens are today in the Fielding-Druce Herbarium at Oxford University in England.
The taxonomy of Sturt's Desert Pea has been changed on a number of occasions. It was initially treated in the 18th century in the genus Clianthus as Clianthus dampieri, and later became more widely known as Clianthus formosus (formosus is Latin for "beautiful"). However it was later reclassified under the genus Swainsona as Swainsona formosa, the name by which it is officially known today.
A further reclassification to Willdampia formosa was proposed in the publication Western Australian Naturalist in 1999; however this proposal was rejected by the scientific community in 2000.
The common name honours Charles Sturt, who recorded seeing large quantities of the flowers while exploring central Australia in 1844; the second version of the scientific name honours the naturalist Isaac Swainson, and the third (rejected) version of the scientific name was intended to honour the explorer William Dampier.
Read more about this topic: Swainsona Formosa
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