''Prostanthera petrophila'' 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 Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to Western Australia. It is a spreading shrub with densely hairy branches, narrow egg-shaped leaves with the narrower end towards the base and white flowers with violet striations in the petal tube.

Description

''Prostanthera petrophila'' is a spreading shrub that typically grows to a height of and has densely hairy branches. The leaves are more or less glabrous, narrow egg-shaped with the narrower end towards the base, long and wide on a short petiole. The flowers are arranged in groups of about ten to sixteen on 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

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 ...

s form a tube long with two lobes, the lower lobe long and the upper lobe long. The petals are white with violet striations in the tube and on the lobes, long and form a tube long. The lower lip of the petal tube has three lobes, the centre lobe spatula-shaped, long and the side lobes long. The upper lip is long, wide with a central notch deep. Flowering occurs in August.

Taxonomy

''Prostanthera petrophila'' was first formally described in 1988 by

Barry Conn Barry John Conn (Barry Conn, born 1948), is an Australian botanist. He was awarded a Ph.D. from Adelaide University in 1982 for work on ''Prostanthera''. Career Conn's first appointment as a botanist was with the Lae Herbarium in 1974. He ...

in the journal ''

Nuytsia ''Nuytsia floribunda'' is a hemiparasitic tree found in Western Australia. The species is known locally as moodjar and, more recently, the Christmas tree or Western Australian Christmas tree. The display of intensely bright flowers during the ...

'' from specimens collected near Mount Barloweerie in 1931.

Distribution and habitat

This mintbush grows on laterite and in rock crevices in the Murchison and Yalgoo

biogeographic regions A biogeographic realm or ecozone is the broadest biogeographic division of Earth's land surface, based on distributional patterns of terrestrial organisms. They are subdivided into bioregions, which are further subdivided into ecoregions. De ...

of Western Australia.

Conservation status

''Prostanthera petrophila'' is classified as " Priority Three" by the Government of Western Australia

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 ...

meaning that it is poorly known and known from only a few locations but is not under imminent threat.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15355318

petrophila ''Petrophila'' is a genus of moths of the family Crambidae. The genus was described by Lansdown Guilding in 1830. Species *''Petrophila aealis'' (Walker, 1859) *''Petrophila aeglesalis'' (Walker, 1859) *''Petrophila aengusalis'' (Schaus, 1924) * ...

Flora of Western Australia Lamiales of Australia Taxa named by Barry John Conn Plants described in 1988