''Prostanthera sejuncta'' is a 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 Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found els ...

to a small area of New South Wales. It is a scrambling, more or less prostrate, aromatic shrub with spiny branches, narrow egg-shaped leaves and pale mauve, pale lilac or almost white flowers.

Description

''Prostanthera sejuncta'' is a scrambling, more or less prostrate, aromatic shrub that typically grows to a height of with branches that have spines up to long arranged in opposite pairs at right angles to each other. The leaves are light to dark green, paler on the lower surface, narrow egg-shaped, long and wide on a petiole long. There are more or less

sessile Sessility, or sessile, may refer to: * Sessility (motility), organisms which are not able to move about * Sessility (botany), flowers or leaves that grow directly from the stem or peduncle of a plant * Sessility (medicine), tumors and polyps that ...

glands In animals, a gland is a group of cells in an animal's body that synthesizes substances (such as hormones) for release into the bloodstream (endocrine gland) or into cavities inside the body or its outer surface (exocrine gland). Structure De ...

on the lower surface of the leaves. The flowers are arranged in leaf axils with

bracteoles In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, or of ...

long at the base. The

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 The term ''sepalum'' was coined ...

s are long, joined at the base forming a tube long with two lobes, the upper lobe long. The petals are long and pale mauve, pale lilac or almost white.

Taxonomy

''Prostanthera sejuncta'' was first formally described in 2006 by Mark Williams, Andrew Drinnan and Neville Walsh in the journal ''

Australian Systematic Botany ''Australian Systematic Botany'' is an international peer-reviewed scientific journal published by CSIRO Publishing. It is devoted to publishing original research, and sometimes review articles, on topics related to systematic botany, such as bi ...

'' from specimens collected on

Mount Arapiles Mount Arapiles is a rock formation that rises about above the Wimmera plains in western Victoria, Australia. It is located in Arapiles approximately west of the town of Natimuk and is part of the Mount Arapiles-Tooan State Park. Arapiles ...

. Specimens of this plant were previously included with '' P. spinosa'', now considered to be endemic to Victoria.

Distribution and habitat

This mintbush grows in rocky soil near

Copmanhurst Copmanhurst is a small town in Clarence Valley Council, Northern Rivers region, New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivi ...

in north-eastern New South Wales.

Conservation status

''Prostanthera sejuncta'' is only known with certainty from

Fortis Creek National Park Fortis Creek is a national park located in New South Wales, Australia, north of Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east c ...

and a nearby nature reserve and is listed as "vulnerable" by under the New South Wales Government '' Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016''. The threats to the species include vegetation clearance, road and track maintenance, inappropriate fire regimes and the species' restricted distribution.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15355145 sejuncta Flora of New South Wales Lamiales of Australia Plants described in 2006 Taxa named by Neville Grant Walsh