Prostanthera melissifolia
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Prostanthera melissifolia, commonly known as balm mint bush,[1] is a species of flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae and is endemic to south-eastern Australia. It is an erect shrub with hairy branches, egg-shaped leaves with fine teeth on the edges and mauve to purple or pink flowers on the ends of branchlets.
Description
Prostanthera melissifolia is an erect shrub that typically grows to a height of Template:Cvt and has hairy, glandular branches. The leaves are dark green above, paler below, egg-shaped, Template:Cvt long and Template:Cvt wide on a petiole Template:Cvt long. There are fine teeth on the edges of the leaves and the midrid and veins are hairy. The flowers are arranged in bunches of ten to twenty on the ends of branchlets with bracteoles Template:Cvt long at the base but that fall off as the flowers develop. The sepals are green, often with a maroon tinge, and form a tube Template:Cvt long with two egg-shaped to oblong lobes Template:Cvt long. The petals are mauve to purple or pink, Template:Cvt long and form a bell-shaped tube Template:Cvt long with two lips. The central lobe of the lower lip is Template:Cvt long and Template:Cvt wide and the side lobes are Template:Cvt long and Template:Cvt wide. The upper lip is Template:Cvt long and Template:Cvt wide with a central notch Template:Cvt deep. Flowering occurs in spring.[1][2][3]
Taxonomy and naming
Prostanthera melissifolia was first formally described in 1858 by Ferdinand von Mueller in Fragmenta Phytographiae Australiae.[4][5] The specific epithet (melissifolia) is in reference to the foliage resembling Melissa, a genus of perennial herbs.[6][7]
Distribution and habitat
Balm mint bush grows in tall montane forests between the Otway and Strzelecki Ranges in Victoria and on the far south coast of New South Wales.
References
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