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True blue wonder discovered

Trekking through the hot, red heart of the Kimberley last week, with only mosquitoes to disturb the humid air, a team of botanists found a true blue beauty.

This blue water lily, believed to be the first new species reported in years, was found on Anzac Day in the remote central Kimberley.

Curtin University professor Kingsley Dixon, UWA alumni Emma Dalziell and British "plant messiah" Carlos Magdalena made the discovery on a 10-day expedition through one of the last un- explored regions for water lilies.

The tropical water lily will go through an identification process to confirm its status, but with the world-renowned Mr Magdalena claiming it as a new species, that is mostly a formality.

Using aerial photography, Google Maps and the knowledge of local indigenous communities as a guide, the team set off down the Gibb River Road hoping for a world-first.

They searched every riverbank, billabong and creek, until on day five, about 250km west of Kununurra, they hit the jackpot.

"We'd had a flat tyre, so we were driving along feeling hot and bothered, and out of the corner of my eye I saw something blue flash by," Professor Dixon said.

"It had the most perfect, haunting blue flowers and they were cupped to look like a peony rose. The scent was reminiscent of fresh apricots and a bunch of freesias."

As far as the team could tell, the water lily was confined to two small billabongs 2km apart.

Professor Dixon said the team was "jumping around like pigs in a wallow" after finding what could be one of the world's rarest lilies and only "true blues".

It has been named peony flora.