Prostanthera nudula explained

Prostanthera nudula, commonly known as Mount Illbillee mintbush,[1] is a species of flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae and is endemic to South Australia. It is a shrub with branches that become spiny, narrow elliptic leaves and pale cream-coloured flowers with yellow dots inside.

Description

Prostanthera nudula is an erect to scrambling shrub that grows to a height of with branches that become rigid spines as they age. The leaves are narrow elliptic, long and wide on a petiole long. The flowers are arranged on pedicels long with bracteoles long near the base. The sepals are yellowish green, forming a tube long with two lobes, the lower lobe long and the upper lobe long. The petals are pale cream-coloured with yellow spots, long, the central lower lobe long and about wide. The lower lateral lobes are about long and wide and the upper lip is broadly egg-shaped, long and about wide. Flowering occurs from September to October.[2] [3]

Taxonomy

Prostanthera nudula was first formally described in 1957 by Enid Lucy Robertson from an unpublished description by John McConnell Black. The description was published in the second edition of the Flora of South Australia from specimens collected by J.B. Cleland in the Everard Ranges in 1950.[4]

Distribution and habitat

Mount Illbillee mintbush grows amongst granite outcrops, usually near watercourse. It is relatively common in the Everard Ranges and is also found in the Musgrave Ranges.[5]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Prostanthera nudula (Labiatae) Mount Illbillee Mintbush . South Australian Seed Conservation Service . 15 September 2020.
  2. Web site: Prostanthera nudula . State Herbarium of South Australia . 15 September 2020.
  3. Conn . Barry J. . Prostantheras of South Australia . Prostanthera and Westringia Study Group Newsletter . September 1988 . 14 . 18–19 . 15 September 2020.
  4. Web site: Prostanthera nudula . Australian Plant Name Index . 15 September 2020.
  5. Web site: Rare plants of the APY Lands Prostanthera nudula . Government of South Australia . 15 September 2020.