Common name: Balm Mint-bush
Prostanthera melissifolia F.Muell. APNI* 
Description: Erect shrub 1–2 m high, aromatic; branches 4-ridged, moderately covered with short, curled hairs and ± sessile glands.
Leaves with lamina ovate, 15–30 mm long, 10–15 mm wide; apex obtuse; base cuneate; sometimes broadly so, margins ± finely and regularly toothed, often slightly irregular; surfaces with short antrorse hairs restricted to midrib and veins.
Flowers in terminal leafy to bracteose botryoids; bracteoles not persistent, 1–2.2 mm long. Calyx 4–5 mm long; tube 1.5–2.5 mm long; upper lobe 2–3 mm long, slightly enlarged in fruit. Corolla 8–12 mm long, mauve to purple or pink. Anthers appendage absent.
Flowering: spring.
Distribution and occurrence: Grows in wet sclerophyll forest; known from the Gibraltar Ra.
NSW subdivisions: SC
Other Australian states: Vic.
The N.S.W. material either represents a disjunct population, or it is a distinct taxon from the Vic. material.
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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