Sturt's Desert Pea Loyalists Outraged As Flannel Flower Voted Australia's Favourite Wildflower

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STOLEN ELECTION! Politicians and community leaders say that social cohesion is directly under threat, after a controversial announcement made by the ABC's Science department this afternoon.

Protests have immediately sparked in the streets, as Australians from across all political divides rally against what they believe to be an unjust ruling.

This comes as the nation's favourite top 10 wildflowers were unveiled after close to 100,000 Australians voted in an official ABC poll to commemorate National Science Week.

Coming in at number one was the Flannel flowers (Actinotus) - a wildflower most famous in regional Australia as a symbol of hope that sprouts through the blackened earth after a bushfire.

As highlighted by the ABC's wildflower experts, the Flannel flowers may look like daisies, but they’re actually in the same family as carrots and parsley, and they have a carroty smell when you cut them.

This in itself is a controversial revelation, considering the Sturt Desert Pea did not even make the list as it is classifed as both a perennial herb and seed - yet not a wildflower.

This has caused outrage amongst the lovers of the iconic fabaceae, who are not protestic outside the ABC headquarters in Ultimo, South Brisbane and Southbank.

Other factions of wildflower lovers have splintered as well - with supporters of the blue bladderwort and the creamy candles also making their grievances known to both the public broadcaster and the organisers of National Science Week.

While both the poll organisers and the governing body behind the controversial poll deny any vote-tampering, protestors argue that this ballot has been gate-kept from them - with the ABC failing to capture a broad enough section oif Australian society.

"Free the pea!" shouts one protestor on Harris street today.

"To not even include the Swainsona formosa in the top ten is a travesty. We are witnessing manufactured consent in real time. Shame on the ABC and shame on all of the casual wildflower enthusiasts who voted for such a bland shrub"