Plants of South Eastern New South Wales

Prostanthera ovalifolia

Flowering stems. Photographer Don Wood, near Moruya

Flowering stems. Photographer Don Wood, Nadgee State Forest, south of Eden

Common name

Oval-leaf Mintbush, Purple Mintbush

Family

Lamiaceae

Where found

Forest. Widespread.

Notes

Shrub to 4 m high. Branches 4-angled, moderately hairy with short, curled hairs, at least on the ridges, and sparsely covered with more or less stalkless glands. Non-aromatic or only slightly aromatic. Leaves opposite each other, 0.5–4 cm long, 3–12 mm wide; mid to dark green, lower surface paler, densely covered with more or less stalkless glands, hairless except for the sparsely hairy midvein on the lower surface, margins entire to slightly and irregularly wavy or lobed, tips blunt to almost pointed; bases continuing down the stems. Flowers mauve or deep blue-purple, rarely white, 6–10 mm long, with a bell-shaped tube, 2-lipped, 5-lobed. Calyx 2-lobed. Flowers mostly in leafless clusters. Flowers Winter to Spring.

PlantNET description:  http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Prostanthera~ovalifolia  (accessed 3 February, 2021)