''Prostanthera magnifica'', commonly known as magnificent prostanthera, is a species of flowering plant in the family

Lamiaceae The Lamiaceae ( ) or Labiatae are a 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, mint, rosemary, sage, savory ...

and is endemic to Western Australia. It is a slender to spreading, erect shrub that has hairy stems, elliptical to narrow egg-shaped leaves and pale mauve or pale blue to pink flowers with prominent dark mauve to purple

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 The term ''sepalum'' was coined b ...

Description

''Prostanthera magnifica'' is a slender, to spreading, erect shrub that typically grows to a height of and has slightly flattened, more or less hairy branches. The leaves are elliptic to narrow egg-shaped, long and wide on a petiole long. The flowers are arranged in bunches of six to eighteen near the ends of branchlets, each flower on a

pedicel Pedicle or pedicel may refer to: Human anatomy *Pedicle of vertebral arch, the segment between the transverse process and the vertebral body, and is often used as a radiographic marker and entry point in vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty procedures ...

long. The sepals are dark mauve to purple, forming a tube long with two prominent, egg-shaped lobes, the lower lobe long and wide, the upper lobe long and wide. The petals are pale mauve or pale blue to pink with dark purple spots, long forming a tube long with two lips. The central lobe of the lower lip is long and wide and the side lobes long and wide. The upper lip is long and wide with a central notch deep. Flowering occurs from August to November.

Taxonomy

''Prostanthera magnifica'' was first formally described in 1943 by

Charles Austin Gardner Charles Austin Gardner (6 January 1896 – 24 February 1970) was an English-born Western Australian botanist. Biography Born in Lancaster, in England, on 6 January 1896, Gardner emigrated to Western Australia with his family in 1909, whe ...

in the ''

Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia The Royal Society of Western Australia (RSWA) promotes science in Western Australia. The RSWA was founded in 1914. It publishes the ''Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia'', and has awarded the Medal of the Royal Society of Western ...

'' from specimens collected near Mullewa by

William Blackall William E. Blackall (1876–1941) was a Western Australia medical doctor who made a substantial contribution to that state's botany. Born in Folkestone, Kent, England, he emigrated to Perth in 1905. His occupation was in medicine, but he is now be ...

Distribution and habitat

Magnificent prostanthera grows on granite outcrops, ironstone hills and rock crevices in the

Avon Wheatbelt The Avon Wheatbelt is a bioregion in Western Australia. It has an area of . It is considered part of the larger Southwest Australia savanna ecoregion. Geography The Avon Wheatbelt bioregion is mostly a gently undulating landscape with low reli ...

, Coolgardie,

Geraldton Sandplains Geraldton (Wajarri: ''Jambinu'', Wilunyu: ''Jambinbirri'') is a coastal city in the Mid West region of the Australian state of Western Australia, north of the state capital, Perth. At June 2018, Geraldton had an urban population of 37,648. ...

, Murchison and Yalgoo biogeographic regions of Western Australia.

Conservation status

This mintbush is classified as "not threatened" by the Western Australian Government

Department of Parks and Wildlife The Department of Parks and Wildlife (DPaW) was the department of the Government of Western Australia responsible for managing lands described in the ''Conservation and Land Management Act 1984'' and implementing the state's conservation and e ...

Use in horticulture

''Prostanthera magnifica'' prefers a sunny or partly shaded position in well-drained soil. It is sensitive to both frost and humidity. Propagation is successful from both seed and cuttings, though seed germination is slow. Grafting is often used to produce a longer-living plant with

rootstock A rootstock is part of a plant, often an underground part, from which new above-ground growth can be produced. It could also be described as a stem with a well developed root system, to which a bud from another plant is grafted. It can refer to a ...

s including ''

Westringia fruticosa ''Westringia fruticosa'', the coastal rosemary or coastal westringia, is a shrub that grows near the coast in eastern Australia. Description The flowers are white, hairy and have the upper petal divided into two lobes. They also have orange-to- ...

'' and ''

Prostanthera striatiflora ''Prostanthera striatiflora'', commonly known as jockey's cap, striated mintbush or striped mintbush, is a species of flowering plant that is endemic to the more arid areas of Australia. It is an erect, aromatic shrub with narrow egg-shaped to ...

''. The latter gives rise to plants with a longer flowering period and less unwanted growth below the graft.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q7250959 magnifica Eudicots of Western Australia Lamiales of Australia Plants described in 1943 Taxa named by Charles Gardner