Prostanthera cuneata

Prostanthera cuneata
Prostanthera cuneata, Mount Baw Baw, Victoria
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Asterids
Order: Lamiales
Family: Lamiaceae
Genus: Prostanthera
Species: P. cuneata
Binomial name
Prostanthera cuneata

Prostanthera cuneata (alpine mint bush or rough mint bush) is a species of flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae, native to south-eastern Australia.[2] It is a bushy evergreen shrub with a compact habit, growing to 90 cm (35 in) both in height and width. The leaves have a rounded apex and cuneate base and are 4 to 5 mm long by 3 to 3.5 mm wide.[2] The leaves are strongly aromatic when crushed.[3] Flowers are produced from November to April (mid-spring to mid-autumn) in the species' native range. These are solitary and axillary, and clustered toward the end of the stems. They are 10–15 cm (4–6 in) long, and white with multiple purple to red coloured spots in the throat.[2]

The specific epithet cuneata means "wedge-shaped".[4]

The species was first formally described by botanist George Bentham in 1848 in Prodromus Systematis Naturalis Regni Vegetabilis.[1] It occurs in alpine and subalpine closed heath and shrubland in granite-based soils in New South Wales and Victoria, often in association with snow gums (Eucalyptus pauciflora).[5][2] In Tasmania, the species is listed as "presumed to be extinct" under the state's Threatened Species Protection Act 1995.[5]

In cultivation this plant has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.[6][7] It has an RHS hardiness rating of H4 (hardy throughout most of the UK, down to -5°/-10 °C)[6] and is suited to USDA hardiness zones 8 to 9.[8]

References

  1. 1 2 "Prostanthera cuneata". Australian Plant Name Index (APNI), IBIS database. Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research, Australian Government, Canberra. Retrieved 2009-12-08.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Prostanthera cuneata". PlantNET - New South Wales Flora Online. Royal Botanic Gardens & Domain Trust, Sydney Australia. Retrieved 2009-12-08.
  3. ↑ RHS A-Z encyclopedia of garden plants. United Kingdom: Dorling Kindersley. 2008. p. 1136. ISBN 1405332964.
  4. ↑ Harrison, Lorraine (2012). RHS Latin for gardeners. United Kingdom: Mitchell Beazley. p. 224. ISBN 9781845337315.
  5. 1 2 "Prostanthera cuneata" (PDF). Threatened Flora of Tasmania. Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment (Tasmanaia). Retrieved 20 February 2013.
  6. 1 2 "Prostanthera cuneata AGM". Plant Selector. Royal Horticultural Society. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
  7. ↑ "AGM Plants - Ornamental" (PDF). Royal Horticultural Society. July 2017. p. 82. Retrieved 23 September 2018.
  8. ↑ Turner, R.J.; Wasson E., eds. (1999). Botanica: the illustrated A-Z of over 10,000 garden plants and how to cultivate them (3 ed.). Gordon Cheers. ISBN 978-0-09-183616-0.
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