Prostanthera sericea

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Silky mintbush
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Lamiales
Family: Lamiaceae
Genus: Prostanthera
Species:
P. sericea
Binomial name
Prostanthera sericea
Prostanthera sericeaDistA86.png
Occurrence data from AVH
Synonyms [1]
  • Prostanthera baxteri var. sericeaJ.M.Black
  • Prostanthera baxteriauct. non A.Cunn. ex Benth.: Tate, R. (1890)

Prostanthera sericea, commonly known as silky mintbush [2] or walyuwalyu, [3] 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.

Contents

Description

Prostanthera sericea is an erect shrub that typically grows to a height of 1–2 m (3 ft 3 in – 6 ft 7 in) with its branches and leaves covered with silvery green or greyish green hairs. The leaves are cylindrical, sometimes with a groove along the lower surface, 10–53 mm (0.39–2.09 in) long and 0.5–3.5 mm (0.020–0.138 in) wide and sessile. The flowers are arranged in groups of four to fourteen on the ends of the branches, each flower on a hairy pedicel 1.5–3 mm (0.059–0.118 in) long. The sepals are cream-coloured and form a tube 1.5–3.5 mm (0.059–0.138 in) long with two lobes, the lower lobe 1.2–2.8 mm (0.047–0.110 in) long and the upper lobe 2–5.4 mm (0.079–0.213 in) long. The petals are 7–10 mm (0.28–0.39 in) long and white with mauve or purple streaks inside the petal tube. The middle lobe of the lower lip is spatula-shaped, 3–5 mm (0.12–0.20 in) long and the side lobes are egg-shaped, 2–4.5 mm (0.079–0.177 in) long. The upper lip is egg-shaped with the lower end towards the base, 1.5–5.5 mm (0.059–0.217 in) long with a central notch 0.5–2.5 mm (0.020–0.098 in) deep. Flowering occurs from July to December or March. [3] [4] [5]

Taxonomy

Silky mintbush was first formally described in 1926 by John McConnell Black who gave it the name Prostanthera baxteri var. sericea in the Flora of South Australia from specimens collected near the Birksgate Range during the Elder expedition of 1891. [6] In 1988, Barry Conn raised the variety to species status as Prostanthera sericea in the journal Nuytsia . [4] [7]

Distribution and habitat

Prostanthera sericea grows on stony hills, in rocky gorges and on sand dunes and sandplains in the east of Western Australia, southern Northern Territory and western South Australia. [2] [3] [5]

Related Research Articles

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<i>Prostanthera magnifica</i> Species of flowering plant

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<i>Prostanthera stenophylla</i> Species of flowering plant

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<i>Prostanthera junonis</i> Species of flowering plant

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<i>Prostanthera althoferi</i> Species of flowering plant

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 ammophila</i> Species of flowering plant

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<i>Prostanthera baxteri</i> Species of flowering plant

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> Species of flowering plant

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> Species of flowering plant

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 eckersleyana</i> Species of flowering plant

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> Species of flowering plant

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 florifera</i> Species of plant

Prostanthera florifera, commonly known as Gawler Ranges mintbush, is a species of flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae and is endemic to the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia. It is a small shrub with densely hairy branches, thick, linear to narrow oblong leaves, and pinkish-red flowers that are pale pink with pinkish-red blotches inside the petal tube.

<i>Prostanthera grylloana</i> Species of flowering plant

Prostanthera grylloana is a species of flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae and is endemic to Western Australia. It is a small, erect shrub with densely hairy branchlets, small, spatula-shaped leaves and red to pink flowers.

<i>Prostanthera incurvata</i> Species of flowering plant

Prostanthera incurvata is a species of flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae and is endemic to the inland of Western Australia. It is a small, erect shrub with hairy branches, narrow oblong to narrow egg-shaped leaves with the narrower end towards the base, and pink to red, sometimes yellow flowers.

<i>Prostanthera nanophylla</i> Species of flowering plant

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 petrophila</i> Species of flowering plant

Prostanthera petrophila is a species of flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae and is endemic to Western Australia. It is a spreading shrub with densely hairy branches, narrow egg-shaped leaves with the narrower end towards the base and white flowers with violet striations in the petal tube.

<i>Prostanthera scutata</i> Species of flowering plant

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 splendens</i> Species of flowering plant

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 verticillaris</i> Species of flowering plant

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. 1 2 "Prostanthera sericea". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  2. 1 2 "Prostanthera sericea (Labiatae) Silky Mintbush". South Australian Seed Conservation Service. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  3. 1 2 3 "Prostanthera sericea (J.M.Black) B.J.Conn". Northern Territory Government. Retrieved 30 September 2020.
  4. 1 2 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): 364–366. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  5. 1 2 "Prostanthera sericea". FloraBase . Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
  6. "Prostanthera baxteri var. sericea". APNI. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  7. "Prostanthera sericea". APNI. Retrieved 30 September 2020.