Adelaide artist Judith Brown has won this year's Waterhouse Natural Science Art Prize.

The competition is focused on artworks inspired by the natural world.

This year's winner Flight of Fancy is an intricate lace cape made from leaves, bulbs and paper.

The artist said of her winning work: "Nature's recurring seasons of growth, perfection, decline and renaissance are a gift to us all.

"The constant exchange of form and style in nature's palette challenge the artist to create a canvas, rich with allusions and symbolism.

"Through the fragile complexities and nuances of delicate forms this piece is a celebration of her unadorned beauty."

The judges said it was a work of extraordinary delicacy and technical accomplishment.

The competition is run by the South Australian Museum and Brown has won $50,000 for her efforts.