Prostanthera canaliculata

Prostanthera canaliculata is a species of flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a small, erect shrub with hairy branchlets, narrow egg-shaped to narrow elliptical leaves and pale blue or pale violet to white flowers with no markings.

Description
Prostanthera canaliculata is an erect shrub that typically grows to a height of 0.3–0.7 m and has branchlets that are usually whitish due to a dense covering of white hairs. The leaves are narrow egg-shaped to narrow elliptical, densely hairy, silvery green or green, 4–7 mm long, 1.0–1.5 mm wide and sessile or on a petiole up to 0.5 mm long. The flowers are arranged singly in two to sixteen leaf axils near the ends of branchlets, each flower on a pedicel 1–1.5 mm long. The sepals are green with a mauve to purple tinge and form a tube 2–3 mm long with two lobes, the lower lobe 1.5–2 mm long and the upper lobe 1–1.5 mm long. The petals are pale blue or pale violet to white without markings, 6.5–10 mm and fused to form a tube 3–7 mm long. The lower lip has three lobes, the centre lobe spatula-shaped, 3–5 mm long and 3–5 mm wide and the side lobes 2–4 mm long and 1–3 mm wide. The upper lip has two lobes 1.5–3.5 mm long and 3.5–5 mm wide. Flowering occurs from September to November.

Taxonomy
Prostanthera canaliculata was first formally described in 1868 by Ferdinand von Mueller in his book Fragmenta phytographiae Australiae.

Distribution and habitat
This mintbush grows on sandy rises, sandplains and on granite outcrops in the Avon Wheatbelt, Esperance Plains, Jarrah Forest, Mallee and Swan Coastal Plain biographic regions of Western Australia.

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