Plants of South Eastern New South Wales
Mentha laxiflora
Common name
Forest mint
Family
Lamiaceae
Where found
Forest in shady, damp or swampy areas, along streams and in gullies. ACT, the mountains to the west, and Kosciuszko National Park. Sometimes elsewhere.
Notes
Perennial herb to 0.6 m high or sprawling, sometimes rhizomatous. Stems 4-angled, sparsely to densely hairy, the angles rough. Leaves aromatic when rubbed, opposite each other, 1–8 cm long, 5–30 mm wide, surfaces with scattered hairs, margins more or less shallowly toothed, tips blunt to somewhat pointed. Flowers white, pink, or pale blue-mauve to mauve, 4–7 mm long, tubular, with 4 lobes 2.5–3.5 mm long, vaguely 2-lipped. Flowers in clusters of 4–12 flowers at the base of paired leaves. Flowering: January–July.
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~laxiflora (accessed 23 January, 2021)
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