Rare floods in semi-arid Victoria have led to the discovery of a previously unrecorded plant species, the wire-stem chickweed, in the state for the first time.
Thousands of wire-stem chickweed seeds are blooming in a usually dry area in north-west Victoria.
The wire-stem chickweed grows in other arid areas including Central Australia, but experts say even there it is uncommon.
The discovery was made on Fiona and Phil Murdoch's 490-hectare conservation property next to Hattah-Kulkyne National Park.
Ms Murdoch, who does conservation work on the property, said the historical discovery was only possible due to Raakajlim Creek at their property in Colignan getting soaked for the first time in 50 years during summer water events.
"It's never been found here [in Victoria] before," Ms Murdoch said.
"We've been monitoring how the vegetation has been recovering since the floods that went through our property from the Murray River in December 2022 and the landscape is really changing really quickly.
"I was walking along in pretty much a bare area and there's this really strange plant with red stem so I had a bit of a look and couldn't find any of my plant books.
"I sent it to some friends and they had no idea [and said] 'never seen that one'.
"So I looked into more plant books and eventually sent it down to the [National] Herbarium of Victoria who confirmed the identification of wire stem chickweed, which is a new species for Victoria."
Botanical pinnacle
Ms Murdoch described the less than 10-centimetre tall plant as "quite unassuming assuming" with a red stem surrounded by a small rosette of leaves and tiny white flowers "that look like they're never going to open".
"It spreads out and looks like a little red sprinkling across the ground," she said.
She described the historic find as the pinnacle of her botanical career.
"One of the awesome things about living in the Mallee is it's still possible to discover things because not everywhere in the valley has been explored.
"To discover something new gives you a buzz and it keeps you looking.
"I always think being out in the bush is a bit like a treasure hunt. You never know what you're going to find."
'Super exciting' find
Land ecologist Dylan Osler surveys the conversation property and said this kind of discovery was a "big deal".
"The seed was laying dormant looking for a particular kind of flooding event," he said.
"It's certainly not something that happens every day.
"It's super exciting particularly after a big long flood because it makes you ask what other species are out there hanging on in very small numbers or, like this, never discovered in Victoria before.
"It shows the role of private conservation sites in improving our understanding of our flora and fauna."
Mr Osler said although the plant was called "chickweed", there was no reason to assume it would have a noxious or negative effect on the local environment.
