Gawler Ranges mintbush facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Gawler Ranges mintbush |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Prostanthera
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| Species: |
florifera
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| Where the Gawler Ranges mintbush grows | |
The Prostanthera florifera, also known as the Gawler Ranges mintbush, is a special kind of flowering plant. It belongs to the Lamiaceae family, which includes mint plants. This bush is found only in one place: the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia. It is a small shrub with fuzzy branches and thick, narrow leaves. Its pretty flowers are pinkish-red, with pale pink and pinkish-red spots inside.
What it Looks Like
The Gawler Ranges mintbush is a bushy plant that usually grows to be about 0.3 to 1 meter (about 1 to 3 feet) tall. Its branches are covered in many tiny hairs, making them feel fuzzy.
The leaves of this plant are thick and shaped like a narrow line or a small oval. They are about 4 to 10 millimeters long and 0.5 to 1 millimeter wide. The leaves are attached directly to the stem without a stalk.
The flowers grow near the ends of the branches. Each flower has a small stalk about 3 to 4 millimeters long. The green parts that protect the flower bud, called sepals, are 7 to 12 millimeters long. They form a tube about 5 to 7 millimeters long with two small tips.
The petals of the flower are a lovely pinkish-red color and are quite large, about 20 to 26 millimeters long. They form a tube that is 12 to 15 millimeters long. Inside this tube, the color is pale pink with white and pinkish-red blotches. The lower part of the petal tube has three sections, or "lobes." The middle lobe is shaped like a small spoon, about 5 millimeters long. The two side lobes are smaller, about 3 to 4 millimeters long. The upper part of the petal tube is egg-shaped, about 7 to 9 millimeters long. This mintbush usually flowers from August to October.
How it Got its Name
Every plant and animal has a scientific name, and the way these names are given is called Taxonomy. The Gawler Ranges mintbush, Prostanthera florifera, was first officially described in 1984. This was done by a scientist named Barry Conn. He studied plant samples collected in 1979 from Miccollo Hill, which is in the Gawler Ranges on the northern Eyre Peninsula. His findings were published in a scientific journal called the Journal of the Adelaide Botanic Gardens.
Where it Lives
The Gawler Ranges mintbush is only found in the Eyre Peninsula region of South Australia. It likes to grow in rocky areas where there are other scattered shrubs. This specific type of environment is its natural home.
