Plants of South Eastern New South Wales

Prostanthera marifolia

Common name

Seaforth mintbush

Family

Lamiaceae

Where found

Dry forest and woodland. Sydney.

Notes

Shrub to about 0.3 m high. Branches almost cylindrical, sparsely to moderately hairy, with sparse glands. Leaves faintly aromatic when rubbed, opposite each other, 0.8–1.5 cm long, 4–8 mm wide; green, sparsely to moderately hairy, sparsely glandular; margins entire or occasionally slightly 1-lobed on each side, and slightly curved down (may appear bluntly 1-toothed because the margin is slightly curved down), tips rounded. Flowers purple, white on the inner surface of the tube, 9–15 mm long, with a bell-shaped tube, 2-lipped, 5-lobed, Calyx 2-lobed. Flowers in 8-12 flowered sub-clusters within many-flowered leafy clusters. Flowering: mainly spring.

Records of Prostanthera species from Cronulla, Waterfall, Helensburgh, Jervis Bay and Nelsons Bay that were previously determined as Prostanthera marifolia have now been assigned mainly to Prostanthera densa.

Prostanthera marifolia is also thought to be closely related to Prostanthera junonis.

Critically endangered Australia. Critically Endangered NSW. Provisions of the NSW Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016 No 63 relating to the protection of protected plants generally also apply to plants that are a threatened species.

Much of the description above is based on that in the NSW Threatened Species Scientific Committee Determination. https://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/topics/animals-and-plants/threatened-species/nsw-threatened-species-scientific-committee/determinations/final-determinations/2008-2010/prostanthera-marifolia-critically-endangered-species-listing (accessed 7 January 2021)

NSW Threatened Species profile with photo:  http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/threatenedSpeciesApp/profile.aspx?id=20101 (accessed 7 January 2021)

PlantNET description with line drawings and photos:  http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Prostanthera~marifolia  (accessed 7 January 2021)