Prostanthera galbraithiae (Wellington Mint-bush) is a flowering plant

Flowering plant

The flowering plants , also known as Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta, are the most diverse group of land plants. Angiosperms are seed-producing plants like the gymnosperms and can be distinguished from the gymnosperms by a series of synapomorphies...

 in the family Lamiaceae

Lamiaceae

The mints, taxonomically known as Lamiaceae or Labiatae, are a family of flowering plants. They have traditionally been considered closely related to Verbenaceae, but in the 1990s, phylogenetic studies suggested that many genera classified in Verbenaceae belong instead in Lamiaceae...

. It is endemic to Victoria

Victoria (Australia)

Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....

 in Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

.

Description

The species is a subshrub

Subshrub

A subshrub or dwarf shrub is a short woody plant. Prostrate shrub is a similar term.It is distinguished from a shrub by its ground-hugging stems and lower height, with overwintering perennial woody growth typically less than 10–20 cm tall, or by being only weakly woody and/or persisting...

 or shrub

Shrub

A shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...

 to between 0.1 and 2 metres high. It has aromatic, sessile leaves which are usually strongly revolute and 8–15 mm long and 2–3 mm wide. The flowers are deep-mauve to purple with maroon spots in the centre and appear in September and October in the species native range.

Taxonomy

The species was first formally described by botanist Barry J. Conn in 1998 in Telopea

Telopea (journal)

Telopea is a peer-reviewed scientific journal that publishes original research on plant systematics, focusing on the flora of New South Wales but with broad content that covers Australia and the Asia-Pacific region. The journal was established in 1975 and is published biannually by the National...

. The species epithet is named for Jean Galbraith

Jean Galbraith

Jean Galbraith was an Australian botanist, gardener, writer of children's books and poet.Jean was born at Tyers, Gippsland, and remained there. The family's sprawling native garden at their cottage "Dunedin" formed the backdrop to her first articles on growing native flowers.She was counted an...

, a member of the Latrobe Valley Field Naturalists, who co-discovered the species and advocated for its protection.

Distribution and habitat

The species occurs on sandy soils over clay on the Gippsland

Gippsland

Gippsland is a large rural region in Victoria, Australia. It begins immediately east of the suburbs of Melbourne and stretches to the New South Wales border, lying between the Great Dividing Range to the north and Bass Strait to the south...

 plains in Holey Plains State Park

Holey Plains State Park

Holey Plains State Park is a 104.6 square kilometre state park in East Gippsland, Victoria in south-eastern Australia. It is known for its exceptionally diverse flora, with about one in five plant species known in Victoria present in the park. The park is situated between Rosedale and Sale...

. It is associated with Eucalyptus obliqua

Eucalyptus obliqua

Eucalyptus obliqua, commonly known as Australian Oak, Brown Top, Brown Top Stringbark, Messmate, Messmate Stringybark, Stringybark and Tasmanian Oak, is a hardwood tree native to south-eastern Australia....

woodland with a heathy understorey including species such as Acacia oxycedrus

Acacia oxycedrus

Acacia oxycedrus is an erect or spreading shrub which is endemic to Australia.It grows to up to 2 metres high and has sharp-pointed phyllodes with 3 or 4 prominent longitudinal veins...

, Epacris impressa, Lepidosperma concavum, Leptospermum myrsinoides

Leptospermum myrsinoides

Leptospermum myrsinoides, commonly known as Silky Tea-tree or Heath Tea-tree, is a shrub species that is endemic to south-eastern Australia. It grows to between 1 and 2 metres high and has narrow leaves that are about 5 to 10mm long and 1 to 3 mm wide...

and Platylobium obtusangulum

Platylobium obtusangulum

Platylobium obtusangulum ' is a shrub which is endemic to Australia . It is a member of the family Fabaceae and of the genus Platylobium....

. It can become locally common after fire. However, a population at Dutson Downs appears to have become extinct due to overly-frequent fires.