Prostanthera ringens
{{Short description|Species of flowering plant}}
{{use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}
{{Speciesbox
|name = Gaping mint-bush
|image = Prostanthera ringens.jpg
|image_caption = Prostanthera ringens near Goondiwindi
|status =
|status_system =
|genus = Prostanthera
|species = ringens
|authority = Benth.{{cite web|title=Prostanthera ringens|url= https://biodiversity.org.au/nsl/services/apc-format/display/110931|publisher=Australian Plant Census|access-date=20 September 2020}}
|synonyms =
- Prostanthera lepidota C.T.White
- Prostanthera rigens F.Muell. orth. var.
|range_map = Prostanthera ringensDistA77.png
|range_map_caption = Occurrence data from AVH
}}
Prostanthera ringens, commonly known as gaping mint-bush,{{cite web |last1=Conn |first1=Barry J. |title=Prostanthera ringens |url=https://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Prostanthera~ringens |publisher=Royal Botanic Garden Sydney |access-date=20 September 2020}} is a species of flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae and is endemic to eastern Australia. It is a bushy shrub with four-sided, hairy, densely glandular branches, oblong or egg-shaped leaves and pale blue to greenish or yellow flowers arranged singly in leaf axils.
Description
Prostanthera ringens is a bushy shrub that typically grows to a height of {{cvt|2|m}} with four-sided, hairy, densely glandular branches. The leaves are egg-shaped to oblong, {{cvt|6–15|mm}} long and {{cvt|2–6|mm}} wide on a petiole up to {{cvt|3|mm}} long. The flowers are arranged singly in leaf axils with bracteoles about {{cvt|1|mm}} long at the base. The sepals are {{cvt|6–8|mm}} long forming a tube about {{cvt|5|mm}} long with two lobes about {{cvt|2|mm}} long. The petals are {{cvt|14–23|mm}} and pale blue to greenish or yellow, forming a tube about {{cvt|10|mm}} long.{{cite journal |last1=Conn |first1=Barry J. |title=A Taxonomic Revision of Prostanthera Labill. Section Klanderia (F.v.Muell.) Benth. (Labiatae) |journal=Journal of the Adelaide Botanic Garden |date=1984 |volume=6 |issue=3 |pages=325–329 |url=https://data.environment.sa.gov.au/Content/Publications/JABG06P207_Conn.pdf |access-date=20 September 2020}}
Taxonomy
Prostanthera ringens was first formally described in 1848 by George Bentham in Thomas Mitchell's Journal of an Expedition into the Interior of Australia.{{cite web|title=Prostanthera petraea|url= https://id.biodiversity.org.au/instance/apni/543236|publisher=APNI|access-date=20 September 2020}}
Distribution and habitat
Gaping mint-bush grows on rocky sandstone ridges, on stony hills and in forest on the western slopes and plains of New South Wales north from near Mendooran and in eastern central Queensland, including in the Darling Downs, Maranoa and Mitchell districts.
Conservation status
Prostanthera ringens is classified as of "least concern" in Queensland under the Queensland Government Nature Conservation Act 1992.{{cite web |title=Species profile—Prostanthera ringens (Lamiaceae) |url=https://apps.des.qld.gov.au/species-search/details/?id=13569 |publisher=Queensland Government Department of Environment and Science |access-date=20 September 2020}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q15355514}}
Category:Flora of New South Wales
Category:Lamiales of Australia