Plants of South Eastern New South Wales

Mentha australis

Flowers and leaves. Photographer Lyn Allison, Melbourne, Vic

Flowering stems. Photographer Richard Hartland, Vic

Leafy stems. Photographer Lyn Allison, Melbourne, Vic

Common name

River mint, Native mint

Family

Lamiaceae

Where found

Near streams and swamps and in clay depressions. South from Burrinjuck Dam. Tablelands, ACT, the mountains to the west, Kosciuszko National Park, and Western Slopes. Rarely elsewhere.

Notes

Perennial herb, mat forming or to 0.8 m tall. Stems 4-angled, often tinged purple, hairless or hairy. Leaves with a strong mint smell when rubbed, opposite each other, 0.6-6 cm long, 4-20 mm wide, hairless to hairy or bristly, dotted with glands, margins entire or toothed, tips pointed.  Flowers white, pink, or purple, 5–7 mm long, tubular, with 4 lobes, each about 1–2 mm long, vaguely 2-lipped, in dense 3-16 flowered clusters at the base of paired leaves. Flowering: February–October.

All native plants on unleased land in the ACT are protected.

PlantNET description:  http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Mentha~australis  (accessed 23 January, 2021)