Victorian Christmas Bush
Prostanthera lasianthos
Family Lamiaceae
About
Prostanthera lasianthos, commonly known as the Victorian Christmas bush or coranderrk , is a large shrub or small tree of the mint family, Lamiaceae, which is native to Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania in Australia. It grows up to 10 m (35 ft) high but is usually much less and is found in wet sclerophyll forests, often beside creeks. Its flowers, which appear in profuse sprays, are about 2 cm long and white or pale lilac, with purple and orange blotches in the throat. They appear in late spring and summer, and specifically around Christmas time in Victoria. The fragrant, toothed leaves are 4 to 12 cm long and about 1.5 cm wide.
How to spot it
Prostanthera lasianthos is the largest member of the mint bush genus Prostanthera. Highly variable in habit, it ranges from a 10-metre-high (30 ft) tree in sheltered forest to a 2-metre-high (7 ft) shrub in exposed montane areas. Arranged oppositely (arising in pairs) along the stems on 0.6–1 cm long petioles, the dark green lanceolate to ovate leaves are 4 to 12 cm (sometimes 15 cm ) long and about 1.0-3.2 cm wide and taper to an acute apex. The leaf undersurface is paler. The flowers appear an
Documented on these trails
Found in
- Macedon Regional Park — Melbourne, the Dandenongs & Central Victoria hikes