Sturt's Desert Pea, is an Australian plant in the genus Swainsona, named after English botanist Isaac Swainson, famous for its distinctive blood-red leaf-like flowers, each with a bulbous black centre, or "boss". It is one of Australia's best known wildflowers. It is native to the arid regions of central and north-western Australia, and its range extends into all mainland Australian states with the exception of Victoria
A number of scenic gaps pierce the West MacDonnell Ranges. One of these is Simpsons Gap, site of one of the most prominent waterholes in the region. The area is an important spiritual site to the Arrarnta Aboriginal people, where several dreaming trails and stories cross. At dawn or dusk Simpsons gap it is renowned as a place to see Black-footed Rock-wallabies along the gap's short walking track.
