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

Lamiaceae The Lamiaceae ( ) or Labiatae are a family (biology), 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 (herb), ba ...

and is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only 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 foun ...

Wollemi National Park The Wollemi National Park () is a protected national park and wilderness area that is located in the Central West and Hunter region of New South Wales, in eastern Australia. The park, the second largest national park in New South Wales, conta ...

in New South Wales. It is an erect, slender, aromatic shrub with hairy, oblong leaves and small groups of pale bluish mauve to violet flowers.

Description

''Prostanthera stenophylla'' is an erect, slender shrub that typically grows to a height of and has leaves that are covered with a dense mat of hairs and give off a strong aroma when crushed. The leaves are narrow egg-shaped to narrow elliptic but appear oblong due to the edge being curved downwards or rolled under. They are dull green above, paler below, long and wide on a very short

petiole Petiole may refer to: *Petiole (botany), the stalk of a leaf, attaching the blade to the stem *Petiole (insect anatomy) In entomology, petiole is the technical term for the narrow waist of some hymenopteran insects, especially ants, bees, and ...

. The flowers are arranged in groups of four to six on short side shoots in leaf axils, with bracteoles long at the base of 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 Etymology The term ''sepalum'' ...

s. The sepals are long forming a tube long with two lobes, the upper lobe long. The petals are pale bluish mauve to violet, long, the lower middle lobe long and wide, the lower lobes long and wide and the upper lobe about long and wide with a central notch deep. Flowering occurs in most months with a peak flowering in spring.

Taxonomy

''Prostanthera stenophylla'' was first formally described by Barry Conn of the National Herbarium of New South Wales in the journal '' Telopea'' in 2006 from specimens collected near Dunns Swamp in 1996. He held it to be allied to the granite mintbush ('' Prostanthera granitica''). The latter species is similar in appearance but has stiffer, rougher hairs and broader leaves. The first recorded collection of plant material from the type locality was by nurseryman George Althofer in 1952. A 1937 collection by

Lindsay Pryor Lindsay Dixon Pryor Order of Australia, AO (26 October 1915 – 17 August 1998) was an Australian botanist noted for his work on ''Eucalyptus'' taxonomy and his role in the landscape design of Canberra, including the foundation of the Australian N ...

is recognised as this species, but the given locality of "

Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...

district" is believed to be incorrect. The specific epithet (''stenophylla'') refers to the narrow leaves of this shrub species.

Distribution and habitat

This mintbush is only known from the Wollemi National Park where it is found in sclerophyll forest dominated by black cypress pine ('' Callitris endlicheri''), snappy gum (''

Eucalyptus rossii ''Eucalyptus rossii'', commonly known as inland scribbly gum or white gum, is a species of small to medium-sized tree that is endemic to New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory. It has smooth bark with insect scribbles, lance-shap ...

'') and Sydney peppermint ('' E. piperita''), growing in sandstone outcrops that are colloquially known as 'pagodas'.

Use in horticulture

This species has been in limited cultivation for some years. The unofficial name of ''Prostanthera rylstonii'' has been used by plant nurseries since at least 2005.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q7250968 stenophylla Flora of New South Wales Lamiales of Australia Plants described in 2006 Taxa named by Barry John Conn