b9be03bea4958e38b985edfa0b15a726

TitleFile:Prostranthera cuneata (5731778282).jpg
Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/
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Description
Prostanthera, commonly known as Mintbush, is a genus of plants of the family Lamiaceae. There are about 90 species within the genus, all of which are endemic to Australia. The word is derived from the Greek, which refers to an appendage. Within the flowers are small spur-like appendages on the anthers.  Prostanthera species are used as food plants by the larvae of hepialid moths of the genus Aenetus including A. eximia and A. ligniveren.  Prostanthera are cultivated as ornamentals and for essential oils and spices.  Prostanthera cuneata (Alpine Mintbush or Rough Mintbush) is a shrub which is native to south-eastern Australia. It has a compact habit, growing to about 1 metre high. The leaves are strongly aromatic. White flowers with purple-spotted throats are produced in spring. The flowers are solitary and axillary, and clustered toward the end of the stems.  The species was first formally described by botanist George Bentham in 1848 in Prodomus. It occurs in subalpine closed heath and shrubland amongst granite rocks in New South Wales and Victoria in Australia. In Tasmania, the species is listed as "presumed to be extinct" under the state's Threatened Species Protection Act 1995.
Original URLhttp://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e4/Prostranthera_cuneata_%285731778282%29.jpg
photographerLeonora Enking from West Sussex, England
providerWikimedia Commons
Scratchpads developed and conceived by (alphabetical): Ed Baker, Katherine Bouton Alice Heaton Dimitris Koureas, Laurence Livermore, Dave Roberts, Simon Rycroft, Ben Scott, Vince Smith