Common name: Cats' Whiskers, Java Tea
Orthosiphon aristatus (Blume) Miq. APNI* Synonyms: Orthosiphon stamineus Benth. APNI*
Description: Slender herb usually 20–50 cm high; branches sparsely hairy.
Leaves with lamina narrow-ovate to ovate or rhombic, 3–16 cm long, 2–4.5 cm wide, membranous, margins coarsely toothed, surfaces sparsely to moderately hairy and moderately covered sessile glands; petiole 1–6 cm long.
Calyx curved-campanulate, 2.5–4.5 mm long; 6.5–12 mm long in fruit. Corolla usually 10–16 mm long, white, pale lilac or lilac; upper lip shallowly 4-lobed, recurved. Stamens greatly exserted. Style 5–6 cm long; stigma club-shaped and shortly 2-fid.
Flowering: recorded April and October
Distribution and occurrence: Grows in gaps in rainforest, chiefly in the Gosford district, but also found near Narooma on the south coast.
NSW subdivisions: CC, SC
Other Australian states: Qld
Text by B. J. Conn
Taxon concept: Flora of NSW 3 (1992)
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.
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