Common name: Rough Mint-bush
Prostanthera denticulata R.Br. APNI* Description: Straggling to subprostrate shrub, to 1 m high and to 2 m diam., aromatic; branches moderately covered with short, ± appressed antrorse hairs.
Leaves with lamina narrow-ovate or occasionally ovate, 4–10 mm long, 2–3 mm wide; apex obtuse; base obtuse to rounded; margins entire and recurved; surfaces mid green, sparsely covered with short, ± tuberculate hairs (mostly near margins), moderately glandular (especially on lower surface); petiole 0.5–1 mm long.
Flowers axillary or in terminal, ± leafy racemose inflorescences; bracteoles persistent, 1–1.5 mm long. Calyx 3.5–5 mm long; tube 2–2.5 mm long; upper lobe c. 2 mm long, slightly enlarged in fruit. Corolla 7–10 mm long, purple to mauve. Anthers with an appendage that is nearly half as long as the cell.
Flowering: spring to early summer.
Distribution and occurrence: Grows in damp areas in sclerophyll forest and woodland, usually near the coast, in sandy loamy soils, overlying sandstone; occurs in the Northern Tablelands and the Central Coast, but P. denticulata (in the strict sense) is confined to the Sydney district.
NSW subdivisions: NT, CC
Other Australian states: ?Vic.
The delimitation of this species, P. howelliae and P. marifolia is unclear. Further detailed field studies are required. The Victorian specimens appear to belong to a different taxon.
Text by B. J. Conn; updated by Trevor Wilson Sep 2017.
Taxon concept: Flora of NSW 3 (1992); updated concept Benth. DC. Prod. X11. 561
APNI* Provides a link to the Australian Plant Name Index (hosted by the Australian National Botanic Gardens) for comprehensive bibliographic data
***The AVH map option provides a detailed interactive Australia wide distribution map drawn from collections held by all major Australian herbaria participating in the Australian Virtual Herbarium project.
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