Plants of South Eastern New South Wales

Prostanthera melissifolia

Common name

Balm mint-bush

Family

Lamiaceae

Where found

Wet forest. Coastal mainly south of Eden. Two records in Morton National Park, and one near Bega.

VICFLORA states that this species only occurs in tall forests between the Otway and Strzelecki Ranges in Victoria, and records for it in East Gippsland (and presumably in the far south of NSW) almost certainly refer to Prostanthera incisa. (1 February, 2021)

PlantNET states that NSW records may be a different species from Victorian material. (1 February, 2021)

Notes

Shrub to 2 m high. Branches 4-ridged, moderately covered with short, curled hairs and more or less stalkless glands. The whole plant aromatic. Leaves opposite each other, 1.5–3 cm long, 10–15 mm wide, surfaces with short hairs restricted to the midrib and veins, margins more or less finely and regularly toothed, often slightly irregular, tips blunt. Flowers mauve to purple or pink, 8–12 mm long, with a bell-shaped tube, 2-lipped, 5-lobed. Calyx 2-lobed. Flowers in leafy to leafless clusters. Flowering: spring.

PlantNET description with line drawing:  http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Prostanthera~melissifolia  (accessed 2 October 2020)