Common name: Victorian Christmas Bush
Prostanthera largiflorens B.J.Conn & K.M.Proft APNI* 
Description: Small tree to 7 metres tall. Branchlets glabrous but moderately to densely glandular.
Leaves glabrous, dark green above, paler below; petiole to 6–10.5 mm long; lamina narrowly ovate to narrowly elliptic, 43–75.5 mm long, 11–16 mm wide, moderately glandular with sessile glands most distinctive on the abaxial surface, base cuneate, margin slightly recurved to flat, entire to occasionally with a few teeth, apex tapering, venation faint; lacking scent or slightly aromatic when crushed.
Inflorescence compound, with 4–8 flowers; pherophylls not seen. Pedicel 2–7 mm long; prophylls persistent, narrowly elliptic, 2.5–3.6 mm long, 0.4–0.8 mm wide. Calyx usually green, very sparsely hairy to glabrous, moderately glandular, tube c. 3.5 mm long, abaxial lobe 4.5–5.5 mm long, adaxial lobe 4–4.5 mm long. Corolla 12–15 mm long, white (once recorded as very pale lilac: J.B. Williams s.n., NE), with purple spots in throat. Stamens 4.5–5.7, connective appendage 1.2–1.5 mm long.
Fruiting calyx slightly larger that flowering calyx, 8–10. Mericarps c. 3 mm long.
Flowering: November to January
Distribution and occurrence: New England National Park. NSW subdivisions: NT. Margins of temperate Nothofagus rainforest or Eucalyptus obliqua forest.
NSW subdivisions: NT
Text by Trevor C Wilson (February 2025)
Taxon concept: Conn BJ, Henwood MJ, Proft KM, Scott JA, Wilson TC, Howes RS (2021) An integrative taxonomic approach resolves the Prostanthera lasianthos (Lamiaceae) species complex. Australian Systematic Botany 34(5) 438–476
APNI* Provides a link to the Australian Plant Name Index (hosted by the Australian National Botanic Gardens) for comprehensive bibliographic data
***The AVH map option provides a detailed interactive Australia wide distribution map drawn from collections held by all major Australian herbaria participating in the Australian Virtual Herbarium project.
|
