Prostanthera incisa
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| Prostanthera incisa R. Br. |
Prostanthera incisa, or cut-leaf mintbush, is a shrubby plant native to rocky mountain tops of Eastern Australia. It has an attractive purple flower. The leaves are highly aromatic, ovate-lanceolate, 1-3 cm long, and teethed.
There are two recognized varieties:
- P. incisa var. incisa
- P. incisa var. pubescens
The leaves and green twigs are distilled for their essential oils. The dried leaf is also used as a bushfood spice. Specific flavoring chemotypes of P. incisa var. incisa are sometimes called native mint in the bushfood trade as an abbreviation and because of mint-like aspects of aroma and flavor. However, this can be confusing because Australia also has true native Mentha species.
In cultivation P. incisa prefers well-drained soils. In poorly drained soils it can be susceptible to root-rot. It has reasonable frost tolerance down to -5 degrees celsius. P. incisa var. incisa is cultivated on a small-scale commercial basis for essential oil production and for bushfood spice.
It is a fast growing shrub, and consequently can be harvested within the first year. When pruned back to a height of 50 cm it reshoots readily.
Occasionally this species is confused with the related P. ovalifolia.
