Since Kitty didn't get a flower poem in my piece (there are only so many poems I can write), Roisin found a very suitable flower and we joined forces! The illustration is mine, the poem is Roisin's.
Mulla Mulla (or p****tails)Soft as a kitten but tough as a stone
It carpets the desert, rarely alone.
Raising its clumps of bright flowers to the light
It spreads on the barren ground, heartening sight.
The soil is enriched by its growth and decay
It leads other flowers and shows them the way.
Pointing a path through the rocks and the sand,
Showing a safe track through dangerous land.
Playful and friendly, useful and bold
This pioneer bringing the new to the old.
Mulla Mulla is often found in the Pilbara, which is a rather arid area - red dirt and iron mines - but it's also got some amazing plants. It also has gorges, which are both really cool and full of interesting plant life, because it's way cooler and damper down there than it is up on the surface. (note: this is not where you find Mulla Mulla. I just mentioned this because gorges are cool)
(I have to remind myself that people who aren't from Western Australia don't automatically know what 'up north' means and I can't just refer to the Pilbara as 'up north' and expect people to understand)