Prostanthera ammophila

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Sand mintbush
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Lamiales
Family: Lamiaceae
Genus: Prostanthera
Species:
P. ammophila
Binomial name
Prostanthera ammophila
Prostanthera ammophilaDistA4.png
Occurrence data from AVH

Prostanthera ammophila, commonly known as sand mintbush, [2] is a species of flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae and is endemic to southern areas of South Australia. It is an erect to spreading shrub with egg-shaped to narrow elliptical leaves and white and purple to mauve flowers with yellow spots inside.

Contents

Description

Prostanthera ammophila is an erect to spreading shrub that typically grows to a height of 0.6–1.7 m (2 ft 0 in–5 ft 7 in) with densely hairy, silvery-green stems. The leaves are egg-shaped to narrow elliptical, silvery green to light green, 7–13 mm (0.28–0.51 in) long and 2.5–5.5 mm (0.098–0.217 in) wide and sessile. The flowers are arranged singly in six to twelve upper leaf axils, each flower on a pedicel 1–2 mm (0.039–0.079 in) long. The sepals are green with a mauve to purple tinge and form a tube 2.5–4 mm (0.098–0.157 in) long with two broadly egg-shaped lobes, the lower lobe 2–3.5 mm (0.079–0.138 in) long and 2.5–3.5 mm (0.098–0.138 in) wide, the upper lobe 4–8 mm (0.16–0.31 in) long and 4–7.5 mm (0.16–0.30 in) wide. The petals are 13–15 mm (0.51–0.59 in) long, white near the base and purple to mauve nearer the tip with yellow spots inside and fused to form a tube 7–9 mm (0.28–0.35 in) long. The lower lip has three lobes, the centre lobe spatula-shaped, 3–7 mm (0.12–0.28 in) long and 2.5–5 mm (0.098–0.197 in) wide and the side lobes 2.5–6 mm (0.098–0.236 in) long and 2–4 mm (0.079–0.157 in) wide. The upper lip has two lobes 3–5.5 mm (0.12–0.22 in) long and 4.5–8.5 mm (0.18–0.33 in) wide. [3]

Taxonomy

Prostanthera ammophila was first formally described in 1988 by Barry Conn in the journal Nuytsia from specimens collected near Yardea Station in 1969. [3] [4]

Etymology

The species epithet,ammophila, is derived from the Greek: ammos (sand), and philos (loving) to give the adjective: ammophilus,-a,-um, which describes the plant as "sand-loving or as "growing in sandy soil. [5]

Distribution and habitat

This mintbush grows on sand dunes and on rocky hills in the Gawler Ranges and Eyre Peninsula in South Australia. [2] [3]

Related Research Articles

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<i>Prostanthera ovalifolia</i>

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<i>Prostanthera magnifica</i>

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<i>Prostanthera stenophylla</i>

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<i>Prostanthera striatiflora</i> Species of plant

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<i>Prostanthera junonis</i>

Prostanthera junonis, commonly known as Somersby mintbush, is a species of flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae and is endemic to the Central Coast of New South Wales. It is a low, straggling shrub with hairy, egg-shaped leaves and purple to mauve flowers.

<i>Prostanthera althoferi</i>

Prostanthera althoferi is a species of flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae and is endemic to inland areas of Australia. It is an erect shrub with its stems and leaves densely covered with silvery, greyish-green hairs, and has narrow egg-shaped leaves and white to cream-coloured flowers with mauve or purple striations inside.

<i>Prostanthera baxteri</i>

Prostanthera baxteri is a species of flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae and is endemic to the south-east of Western Australia. It is an erect shrub with narrow egg-shaped to linear leaves and white flowers with a tinge of blue to pale mauve.

<i>Prostanthera behriana</i>

Prostanthera behriana, commonly known as tall mintbush, is a species of flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae and is endemic to the south-east of South Australia. It is an erect to straggling shrub with egg-shaped leaves and white, pale blue, pale violet or purplish white flowers with red-brown spots or purple streaks inside.

<i>Prostanthera canaliculata</i>

Prostanthera canaliculata is a species of flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a small, erect shrub with hairy branchlets, narrow egg-shaped to narrow elliptical leaves and pale blue or pale violet to white flowers with no markings.

<i>Prostanthera centralis</i> Species of plant

Prostanthera centralis is a species of flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae and is endemic to an area near the border between the Northern Territory and Western Australia. It is an erect shrub with hairy branchlets, hairy egg-shaped to elliptical leaves and mauve to blue flowers.

<i>Prostanthera chlorantha</i>

Prostanthera chlorantha, commonly known as green mintbush, is a species of flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae and is endemic to the south-east of South Australia. It is a small shrub with small, broadly egg-shaped to round leaves and mauve, bluish green, or greenish red to greenish yellow flowers with a pink tinge.

<i>Prostanthera eckersleyana</i>

Prostanthera eckersleyana, commonly known as crinkly mintbush, is a species of flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is an erect or spreading shrub with sticky, hairy branchlets, egg-shaped to elliptical leaves and blue, mauve to purple or violet flowers with maroon spots inside the petal tube.

<i>Prostanthera ferricola</i>

Prostanthera ferricola is a species of flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae and is endemic to central Western Australia. It is an erect, openly branched shrub with aromatic, egg-shaped leaves and mauve-purple flowers arranged in four to twelve leaf axils near the end of branchlets.

<i>Prostanthera nanophylla</i>

Prostanthera nanophylla is a species of flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae and is endemic to Western Australia. It is a small shrub with hairy branches, egg-shaped to elliptic or narrow oblong leaves and mauve or blue to white flowers with dull brown, maroon or purple spots.

<i>Prostanthera scutata</i>

Prostanthera scutata is a species of flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae and is endemic to Western Australia. It is a small, erect, compact shrub with densely hairy branches, elliptic to narrow elliptic leaves and pale blue or faintly violet flowers.

<i>Prostanthera sericea</i>

Prostanthera sericea, commonly known as silky mintbush or walyuwalyu, is a species of flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae and is endemic to inland Australia. It is an erect shrub with hairy branches, cylindrical leaves and white flowers with mauve or purple streaks.

<i>Prostanthera splendens</i>

Prostanthera splendens is a species of flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae and is endemic to Western Australia. It is a small, spreading shrub with small, densely glandular, egg-shaped leaves and mauve to light purple flowers, paler on the inside with mauve to reddish-brown dots.

<i>Prostanthera tallowa</i>

Prostanthera tallowa is a species of flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae and is endemic to the Kangaroo Valley area of New South Wales. It is an erect, aromatic shrub with narrow egg-shaped to linear leaves and mauve to light purple flowers with darker dots inside the petal tube.

<i>Prostanthera verticillaris</i>

Prostanthera verticillaris is a species of flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae and is endemic to a restricted area of Western Australia. It is a spreading shrub with whorled, egg-shaped to elliptic leaves and white to purplish-blue flowers.

References

  1. "Prostanthera ammophila". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
  2. 1 2 "Prostanthera ammophila (Labiatae) Sand Mintbush". South Australian Seed Conservation Service. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
  3. 1 2 3 Conn, Barry J. (1988). "A taxonomic revision of Prostanthera Labill. Section Prostanthera (Labiatae). 1. The species of the Northern Territory, South Australia and Western Australia". Nuytsia. 6 (3): 380–382. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
  4. "Prostanthera ammophila". APNI. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
  5. "ammophilus,-a,-um". www.plantillustrations.org. Retrieved 21 August 2020.