Prostanthera

Pink-flowered variety of round-leaved mintbush Prostanthera rotundifolia, copyright Brian Walters.

Belongs within: Lamiaceae.

Prostanthera, mintbush, is a genus of often strongly-scented shrubs endemic to Australia.

Characters (from Black & Robertson 1965): Shrubs or undershrubs, mostly strongly scented, with opposite leaves which sometimes appear clustered; flowers usually solitary and axillary with two narrow bracteoles on peduncle. Calyx usually campanulate, two-lipped, about ten-nerved, the lips entire or the lower one slightly notched; corolla-tube short, dilated into a broad two-lipped limb, the upper lip erect, broadly two-lobed and more or less hooded, the lower lip spreading, three-lobed, the middle lobe larger and usually obtusely notched; stamens 4, in pairs; anthers two-celled, usually with two linear appendages penicillate at summit and attached to back of cells, the upper part of each appendage adnate to the cell, the lower part of one appendage often protruding like a short spur below the base of the cell, the other appendage remaining very short; style long and slender, often curved, the two terminal lobes sometimes minute; nutlets reticulate-rugose.

<==Prostanthera
    |  i. s.: P. althoferi G04
    |         P. grylloana G04
    |         P. lasianthos BR65
    |--P. sect. Euprostanthera R65
    |    |--P. baxteri BR65
    |    |    |--P. b. var. baxteri BR65
    |    |    |--P. b. var. crassifolia BR65
    |    |    `--P. b. var. sericea BR65
    |    |--P. behriana BR65
    |    |--P. eurybioides BR65
    |    |--P. nudula Black ex Robertson 1965 R65
    |    |--P. rotundifolia BR65
    |    |--P. spinosa BR65
    |    |--P. striatiflora BR65
    |    `--P. wilkieana BR65
    `--P. sect. Klanderia BR65
         |--P. aspalathoides Cunn 1836 [incl. P. coccinea Mueller 1856] BR65
         |--P. calycina BR65
         |--P. chlorantha BR65
         |--P. microphylla [=Cryphia microphylla] BR65
         `--P. serpyllifolia [=Cryphia serpyllifolia] BR65

*Type species of generic name indicated

REFERENCES

[BR65] Black, J. M., & E. L. Robertson. 1965. Flora of South Australia. Part IV. Oleaceae-Compositae. W. L. Hawes, Government Printer: Adelaide.

[G04] Gibson, N. 2004. Flora and vegetation of the Eastern Goldfields Ranges: part 6. Mt Manning Range. Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia 87 (2): 35-47.

[R65] Robertson, E. L. 1965. Diagnoses to new taxa. In Flora of South Australia. Part IV. Oleaceae-Compositae (Black, J. M., & E. L. Robertson) pp. 946. W. L. Hawes, Government Printer: Adelaide.