A RARE flower has risen like a phoenix from the ashes in Corrigin - a silver lining for an area devastated by bushfires earlier this year.
Yongerellen Red Poll cattle stud principal Murray Williams found the flannel flower - Actinotus superbus - on his property last month, while looking through bushland reserves.
According to the CSIRO, white flannel flowers are bushfire ephemerals, meaning their seeds lay dormant in the soil for years on end, until the right mix of fire and rain bring them back to life.
At Mr Williams' property, which had been burnt in the February Wheatbelt bushfires, the plant had not been seen for more than 60 years.
He said one of the few joys to come from the fires was seeing these flowers grow again.
"In the early stages of our farm development the native vegetation was bulldozed in winter and then burned in January or February of the following year," Mr Williams said.
"I recall seeing some of the flannel flowers in spring, in areas that had not been sown to crop.
"Not many, but they were special for their form, pure white colour, soft flannel feeling of the flowers and the uniqueness that they did not occur again.
"The thing that gives you hope, apart from the people, is to see how strong nature is, what it does, and the likes of this flower."
Mr Williams contacted director of the Western Australian Botanic Garden Sue McDougall, who along with a team from the Western Australian Seed Centre - Kings Park, collected seed from the flower.
This was seen as an opportunity to observe other responses by nature to the bushfire.
Member of the Kings Park plant development team Tony Scalzo said the species of flannel flower growing on properties near Corrigin were mainly found in the Wheatbelt region.
Dr Scalzo said Kings Park was very interested when Mr Williams reached out and suggested seed be collected from the plant.
He said the seed would be used to grow plants for display in the WA botanic garden and to generate a domesticated seed source for future displays.
In addition, the botanic garden's plant development team aimed to make selections of large-flowered forms, so they could be domesticated and possibly released to the nursery industry for people to enjoy in their own gardens or use as container plants.
"Actinotus superbus is only likely to be seen in flower sporadically, most likely after fire," Dr Scalzo said.
"The exact triggers, which stimulate germination post-fire events, are the subject of investigation by the Kings Park team."
Dr Scalzo said the small herbaceous plant had hairy divided leaves from 0.1 to 0.3 metres high, and abundant terminal flowers - two to three centimetres across - with feathery white peripheral bracts and cream-yellow centres.
According to Florabase flowers, it grows from October to December or mid spring to early summer.
Ms McDougall said focus on the flannel flower had reinforced the importance of maintaining natural reserve areas on private land.
She said Kings Park was very interested in building relationships with private landholders to conserve WA flora for future generations.
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"Access to these areas for Botanic Gardens and Park Authority is critical for ex-situ conservation of WA flora," Ms McDougall said.
"With broadscale land clearing and habitat fragmentation many road reserves - previously a source of native flora - are now invaded by weed species.
"The reserves on private land tend to be managed and the importance of natural areas for our ecosystem management cannot be underestimated."
