Science Week 2026 at the ABC: Australia's amazing wildflowers

Tue 26 May 2026 at 1:15pm

A field of colourful flowers with a hill in the distance against a cloudy sky. — WA is well known for its wildflowers, but beautiful blooms can be found all across the country. (ABC Midwest & Wheatbelt: Chris Lewis)

What's your favourite wildflower?

This National Science Week (August 15–23, 2026) the ABC is exploring Australia's amazing wildflowers — from WA's seasonal blooms to the unique tropical flowers around Darwin, and the weird and crazy world of orchids.

We need your help to find Australia's most amazing wildflower. We're going beyond banksias and waratahs to blooms from the unsung understorey that also have a surprising superpower.

With the help of experts, we've selected 10 flowering plants from across the country and we're holding a public vote to find our winner.

The search for Australia's most amazing wildflower

Voting to decide Australia's most amazing wildflower will start just before National Science Week in August, with the winning bloom announced on Friday August 21 in a live broadcast on Radio National.

Key dates

Poll launch: Wednesday August 5 (12-day voting period). Voting will also be available on social media
Winning flower revealed: Friday August 21

Read, watch, listen and scroll

Across ABC NEWS, ABC Radio National, ABC Local, ABC iview and social media, there will be loads of fascinating interviews and stories about our wildflowers with superpowers.

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The ABC's amazing wildflowers project is the online initiative for National Science Week 2026, undertaken by ABC Science with funding through the Australian Government's Inspiring Australia strategy.