Citation: Schldl., Linnaea 20:610 (1847).

Synonymy: Not Applicable

Common name: Downy mintbush.

Description:
Erect to straggling shrub, 1-2.5 m high; branches densely hairy, sometimes hairs restricted to the base of the leaf and the midrib of the adaxial surface; hairs more or less straight, appressed, forward-directed, 0.4-0.5 mm long; glands absent; leaves light-green, sparsely to densely hairy, sometimes sparsely hairy adaxially, often glabrous abaxially; petiole absent; lamina obovate to narrowly ovate, 9.4-32 but usually 14-26 mm long, 2-6 mm wide; base attenuate to acute; margin entire, slightly incurved; apex subacute; venation (including the midrib) indistinct.

Pedicel 0.5-1 mm long, densely hairy, glands absent; bracteoles inserted on the distal half of the pedicel, often inserted near the base of the calyx; narrowly ovate to narrowly obovate, 3-6 mm long, 0.5-1 mm wide; calyx more or less green, glands absent; outer surface moderately to densely hairy; tube 2-3 mm long, inner surface glabrous; lower lobe broadly triangular, 1-2 mm long, 1.1-1.8 mm wide; upper lobe broadly ovate, 2.5-3 mm long, 3-3.4 mm wide; corolla 15-20 mm long, white, pale-blue, pale-violet, purple-white with purple streaks in the throat, or more commonly with brown-red dots in the throat and mouth of the abaxial surface, venation purple; outer surface labrous at the base, densely hairy distally; tube 7-10 mm long; inner surface glabrous at the base, sparsely hairy distally; lobes with inner surface sparsely hairy at the base, glabrous distally or sparsely hairy throughout; lower median lobe spathulate, 6-10 mm long, 4.5-9 mm wide; lateral lobes oblong, ovate to obovate, 5.5-7 mm long, 2.5-3 mm wide; upper median lobe-pair broadly ovate, 4-6 mm long, 6-7 mm wide; stamens inserted 5.5-6 mm above the base of the corolla; filaments 3-5 mm long, sometimes with a few scattered hairs basally; anthers 1-1.5 mm long, sometimes sparsely crested dorsally, connective extended to form a basal appendage c. 1 mm long, narrowly triangular trichomes present at the apex; pistil c. 9 mm long; ovary c. 0.5 mm long, glandular distally; style c. 7 mm long; stigma lobes to 0.3 mm long.

Fruiting calyx not enlarged; mericarps 2-3 mm long.

	Flowering branch and calyx.
Image source: fig. 555F in Jessop J.P. & Toelken H.R. (Ed.) 1986. Flora of South Australia (4th edn).

Published illustration: Althofer (1978) Cradle of incense, p. 156.

Distribution:  Commonly associated with Astroloma conostephioides, Baeckea, Brachycome, Correa, Hibbertia, Leptospermum and Styphelia heathlands in sandy soils. Also in Eucalyptus baxteri, E. fasciculosa, E. leucoxylon, and E. obliqua woodland in loamy soils of rocky gullies. S.Aust.: FR, EP, NL, MU, SL, KI, SE. Conservation status: native Flowering time: July — Jan.

SA Distribution Map based on current data relating to specimens held in the State Herbarium of South Australia

Biology: No text

Author: Not yet available