''Prostanthera rugosa'' is a species of flowering plant in the family

Lamiaceae The Lamiaceae ( ) or Labiatae are a family of flowering plants commonly known as the mint, deadnettle or sage family. Many of the plants are aromatic in all parts and include widely used culinary herbs like basil, mint, rosemary, sage, savory ...

and is endemic to a restricted area of New South Wales. It is an openly-branched shrub with egg-shaped or narrow egg-shaped, thick, fleshy leaves and mauve flowers with a white tinge arranged in leaf axils near the ends of branchlets.

Description

''Prostanthera rugosa'' is an openly-branched shrub that grows to a height of with branches that are densely hairy, at least when young and have more or less sessile glands. The leaves are egg-shaped to narrow egg-shaped, hairy on the upper surface, have two or three lobes on each side, long and wide on a petiole long. The flowers are arranged in leaf axils near the ends of branches with bracteoles less than long at the base. The sepals are long forming a tube long with two lobes, the upper lobe long. The petals are mauve with a white tinge, long. Flowering occurs from September to October.

Taxonomy

''Prostanthera rugosa'' was first formally described in 1834 by George Bentham from an unpublished description by

Alan Cunningham General (United Kingdom), General Sir Alan Gordon Cunningham, (1 May 1887 – 30 January 1983) was a senior Officer (armed forces), officer of the British Army noted for his victories over Italian forces in the East African Campaign (World War ...

, of plants collected "on rugged mountains near the Hunter River". Bentham's description was published in his book ''Labiatarum Genera et Species''.

Distribution and habitat

This mintbush grows in forest in the Moss Vale district of New South Wales.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15355596 rugosa Flora of New South Wales Lamiales of Australia Plants described in 1834 Taxa named by Allan Cunningham (botanist)