''Prostanthera striatiflora'', commonly known as jockey's cap, striated mintbush or striped mintbush, is a species of flowering plant that 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 the more arid areas of Australia. It is an erect, aromatic shrub with narrow egg-shaped to narrow elliptic leaves and white flowers with purple lines inside the petal tube.

Description

''Prostanthera striatiflora'' is an erect, aromatic shrub that typically grows to a height of and has only sparsely hairy branches. The leaves are narrow egg-shaped to narrow elliptic, long, wide, mostly

glabrous Glabrousness (from the Latin ''glaber'' meaning "bald", "hairless", "shaved", "smooth") is the technical term for a lack of hair, down, setae, trichomes or other such covering. A glabrous surface may be a natural characteristic of all or part of ...

and

sessile Sessility, or sessile, may refer to: * Sessility (motility), organisms which are not able to move about * Sessility (botany), flowers or leaves that grow directly from the stem or peduncle of a plant * Sessility (medicine), tumors and polyps that ...

or on a petiole up to long. The flowers are arranged in groups of four to about twelve 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

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 are light green, often with a faint purple tinge and form a tube long with two lobes, long. The petals are white, long, forming a tube long with purple lines inside. The middle lower lobe is spatula-shaped, long and wide and the side lobes are long. The upper lip is long and wide with a central notch deep. Flowering occurs from July to November.

Taxonomy

''Prostanthera striatiflora'' was first formally described in 1853 by

Ferdinand von Mueller Baron Sir Ferdinand Jacob Heinrich von Mueller, (german: Müller; 30 June 1825 – 10 October 1896) was a German-Australian physician, geographer, and most notably, a botanist. He was appointed government botanist for the then colony of Vict ...

in ''Linnaea: ein Journal für die Botanik in ihrem ganzen Umfange, oder Beiträge zur Pflanzenkunde'' based on plant specimens that he collected during his 1851 expedition through the

Flinders Ranges The Flinders Ranges are the largest mountain range in South Australia, which starts about north of Adelaide. The ranges stretch for over from Port Pirie to Lake Callabonna. The Adnyamathanha people are the Aboriginal group who have inhabi ...

in South Australia.

Distribution and habitat

Jockey's cap occurs in arid areas of New South Wales, Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia and the Northern Territory where it grows in woodland in rocky, dry terrain.

Use in horticulture

The species is cultivated for its showy flowers and aromatic foliage. It prefers a well-drained situation in full sun or partial shade and tolerates both dryness and frost. It is suited to cultivation in large containers.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q7250969 striatiflora Flora of New South Wales Flora of Queensland Flora of South Australia Flora of Western Australia Flora of the Northern Territory Lamiales of Australia Plants described in 1853 Taxa named by Ferdinand von Mueller