Prostanthera baxteri



Prostanthera baxteri is a species of flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae and is endemic to the south-east of Western Australia. It is an erect shrub with narrow egg-shaped to linear leaves and white flowers with a tinge of blue to pale mauve.

Description
Prostanthera baxteri is an erect shrub that typically grows to a height of 0.3–1.3 m with stems that usually appear white because of their dense covering of white hairs. The leaves are narrow egg-shaped to linear, light green, 5–15 mm long, 1–2 mm wide and sessile. The flowers are arranged singly on the ends of branchlets in eight to fourteen leaf axils, each flower on a pedicel 1–3 mm long. The sepals are green with a maroon tinge and form a tube 2–4 mm long with two lobes, the lower lobe 3–4.5 mm long and the upper lobe 1.5–3 mm long. The petals are white with a tinge of blue to pale mauve, 10.5–13 mm and fused to form a tube 4.5–7.5 mm long. The lower lip has three lobes, the centre lobe spatula-shaped, 2.4–5.5 mm long and 2–5.5 mm wide and the side lobes 2–4.5 mm long and 2-4 mm wide. The upper lip has two lobes 2–3 mm long and about 2–6 mm wide. Flowering occurs from August to November.

Taxonomy
Prostanthera baxteri was first formally described in 1834 by George Bentham in his book Labiatarum genera et species, from an unpublished description by Allan Cunningham. The type specimens were collected near King George Sound.

Distribution and habitat
This mintbush grows on granite outcrops, rocky places and sandplains in mallee and heath communities in the Esperance Plains and Mallee biogeographic regions in the south of Western Australia.

Conservation status
Prostanthera baxteri is classified as "not threatened" by the Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife.