Prostanthera arapilensis

{{Short description|Species of flowering plant}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2019}}

{{Speciesbox

|image = Prostanthera arapilensis.JPG

|image_caption = In Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria, Melbourne

|genus = Prostanthera

|species = arapilensis

|authority = M.L.Williams, Drinnan & N.G.Walsh{{cite web|title=Prostanthera arapilensis|url= https://biodiversity.org.au/nsl/services/apc-format/display/203482|publisher=Australian Plant Census|access-date=21 August 2020}}

|synonyms_ref =

|synonyms =

  • Prostanthera sp. (Mt Arapiles)
  • Prostanthera spinosa auct. non F.Muell.: Williams, M.L., Drinnan, A.N. & Walsh, N.G. (2006)

|range_map = Prostanthera arapilensis distribution map.png

|range_map_caption = Occurrence data from AVH

}}

Prostanthera arapilensis is a flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae and is endemic to a small area of Victoria, Australia. It is an erect shrub with hairy branches, broadly egg-shaped to more or less round leaves and pale mauve or white flowers with orange-brown spots or streaks inside the petal tube.

Description

Prostanthera arapilensis is an erect, aromatic shrub that typically grows to a height of {{cvt|0.5–1.5|m}} with hairy branches that have spines {{cvt|6–15|mm}} long arranged in opposite pairs at right angles to each other. The leaves are light to dark green, paler on the lower surface, egg-shaped to more or less round, {{cvt|30–45|mm}} long and {{cvt|1–2|mm}} wide on a petiole up to {{cvt|1|mm}} long. The leaves are hairy with oil glands on the lower surface. The flowers are arranged in leaf axils with bracteoles {{cvt|1.5–2|mm}} long and {{cvt|0.2–0.3|mm}} wide. The sepals are {{cvt|5.5–7|mm}} long, joined at the base forming a tube {{cvt|3–4|mm}} long with two lobes, the upper lobe {{cvt|1.5–3|mm}} long. The petals are {{cvt|12–19|mm}} long, pale mauve or white with orange-brown spots or streaks inside the petal tube.{{cite web |last1=Ohlsen |first1=Daniel |last2=Stajsic |first2=Val |title=Prostanthera arapilensis |url=https://vicflora.rbg.vic.gov.au/flora/taxon/9fc06ef8-7317-496e-baaa-337723ee94c1 |publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens, Victoria |access-date=21 August 2020}}

Taxonomy

Prostanthera arapilensis was first formally described in 2006 by Mark Williams, Andrew Drinnan and N.G.Walsh in the journal Australian Systematic Botany from specimens collected on Mount Arapiles.{{cite web|title=Prostanthera arapilensis|url= https://id.biodiversity.org.au/instance/apni/612315|publisher=APNI|access-date=21 August 2020}}{{Cite Q|Q55756198}}

Distribution and habitat

This mintbush grows in heathy woodland and scrubland and is only known from the rocky summit of Mount Arapiles.

References