''Prostanthera decussata'', commonly known as dense mintbush, species of flowering plant that is endemic south-eastern Australia. It is a dense, compact, strongly aromatic shrub with egg-shaped leaves and mauve to violet flowers with yellow streaks, arranged in leaf axils near the ends of branchlets.

Description

''Prostanthera decussata'' is a dense, compact, strongly aromatic shrub that typically grows to a height of up to . The leaves are egg-shaped, long, wide and sessile or on a petiole up to long. They are dark green on top and paler on the underside. The flowers are arranged in leaf axils near the ends of branchlets with bracteoles long at the base. The sepals are long forming a tube long with two lobes, the upper lobe long. The petals are mauve to violet, occasionally pinkish, long. Flowering occurs from October to March.

Taxonomy and naming

This species was formally described in 1859 by Victorian Government Botanist

Ferdinand von Mueller Baron Sir Ferdinand Jacob Heinrich von Mueller, (german: Müller; 30 June 1825 – 10 October 1896) was a German-Australian physician, geographer, and most notably, a botanist. He was appointed government botanist for the then colony of Vict ...

in '' Fragmenta phytographiae Australiae'', based on plant material collected in mountainous country near the Macalister River in Victoria. The

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

(''decussata'') is from the Latin ''decussatus'' meaning "formed crosswise like the letter X".

Distribution and habitat

Dense mintbush grows in heath, forest and woodland in the eastern half of Victoria, in the Australian Capital Territory and mainly in the south-eastern part of New South Wales.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15355128 decussata Flora of the Australian Capital Territory Flora of New South Wales Flora of Victoria (state) Lamiales of Australia Plants described in 1859 Taxa named by Ferdinand von Mueller