Prostanthera ovalifolia
Introduction '''''Prostanthera ovalifolia''''', commonly known as the '''oval-leaf mintbush''' or '''purple mintbush''', is a species of flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae and is endemic to south-eastern continental Australia. It is an erect shrub with egg-shaped leaves and groups of mauve to deep blue-purple flowers arranged in groups at the ends of branchlets.
Description ''Prostanthera ovalifolia'' is an erect, spreading to dense shrub that typically grows to a height of  with stems that are square in cross-section and are moderately hairy. The leaves are egg-shaped, a lighter shade of green on the lower surface,  long and  wide on a petiole  long. The flowers are arranged in groups at the ends of the branchlets with bracteoles  long and  at the base, but that fall off as the flowers develop. The sepals are  long and form a tube  long with two lobes, the lower lobe  long. The petals are mauve to deep blue-purple and fused to form a tube  long. Flowering occurs from August to November.
Taxonomy ''Prostanthera ovalifolia'' was first formally described in 1810 by Robert Brown in his book ''Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van Diemen''.
Distribution and habitat Oval-leaf mintbush is widespread in forest growing on sandstone in south-eastern Queensland and eastern New South Wales. It is also sporadically naturalised in the eastern half of Victoria.
Use in horticulture This mintbush is widely cultivated as a garden shrub where it typically grows to a height of about . It grows best in a well-drained soil with some protection from direct summer sun. It should be pruned back by about one third to retain its bushy shape.
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