Prostanthera ringens

Prostanthera ringens, commonly known as gaping mint-bush,[2] 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 gladular branches, oblong or egg-shaped leaves and pale blue to greenish or yellow flowers arranged singly in leaf axils.

Gaping mint-bush
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Lamiales
Family: Lamiaceae
Genus: Prostanthera
Species:
P. ringens
Binomial name
Prostanthera ringens
Occurrence data from AVH
Synonyms[1]

Description

Prostanthera ringens is a bushy shrub that typically grows to a height of 2 m (6 ft 7 in) with four-sided, hairy, densely glandular branches. The leaves are egg-shaped to oblong, 6–15 mm (0.24–0.59 in) long and 2–6 mm (0.079–0.236 in) wide on a petiole up to 3 mm (0.12 in) long. The flowers are arranged singly in leaf axils with bracteoles about 1 mm (0.039 in) long at the base. The sepals are 6–8 mm (0.24–0.31 in) long forming a tube about 5 mm (0.20 in) long with two lobes about 2 mm (0.079 in) long. The petals are 14–23 mm (0.55–0.91 in) and pale blue to greenish or yellow, forming a tube about 10 mm (0.39 in) long.[2][3]

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.[4]

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.[2][3]

Conservation status

Prostanthera ringens is classified as of "least concern" in Queensland under the Queensland Government Nature Conservation Act 1992.[5]

References
  1. "Prostanthera ringens". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 20 September 2020.
  2. Conn, Barry J. "Prostanthera ringens". Royal Botanica Garden Sydney. Retrieved 20 September 2020.
  3. Conn, Barry J. (1984). "A Taxonomic Revision of Prostanthera Labill. Section Klanderia (F.v.Muell.) Benth. (Labiatae)" (PDF). Journal of the Adelaide Botanic Garden. 6 (3): 325–329. Retrieved 20 September 2020.
  4. "Prostanthera petraea". APNI. Retrieved 20 September 2020.
  5. "Species profile—Prostanthera ringens (Lamiaceae)". Queensland Government Department of Environment and Science. Retrieved 20 September 2020.
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