Common name: Cockspur Flower
Plectranthus ecklonii Benth. in DC. APNI* Description: Aromatic, soft, erect shrub to 3 m high, semi-succulent distally; branches ascending, sparsely covered with short antrorse multicellular hairs.
Leaves ovate to oblong-elliptic; lamina 6–17 cm long, 4–10 cm wide, firm-textured, often rugose, sparsely hairy to almost glabrous; margin conspicuously crenate-dentate, with 16–25 pairs of teeth; apex acute; petiole 1.5–5 cm long.
Calyx c. 5 mm long (10–11 mm long in fruit). Corolla 14–20 mm long, pale blue or mauve to bluish-purple (rarely white); tube straight; lobes usually with sessule glands.
Flowering: Flowers throughout the year.
Distribution and occurrence: Recorded as naturalised in Blue Mountains (Central Tablelands, N.S.W.), as a garden escape. Also naturalised in Victoria and New Zealand. Grows in Syncarpia glomerulifera and Allocasuarina torulosa forest, mostly along margin.
NSW subdivisions: *CC, *SC
Text by B.J.Conn
Taxon concept: Flora of Victoria 4 (1999)
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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