Prostanthera incisa

Prostanthera incisa
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Asterids
Order:	Lamiales
Family:	Lamiaceae
Genus:	Prostanthera
Species:	P. incisa
Binomial name
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

Uses

The leaves and green twigs are distilled for their essential oils. The dried leaf of a specific flavoring chemotype of P. incisa var. incisa is also sold under the trade name of native mint. However, this can be confusing because Australia also has true native Mentha species.

The dried leaf has high free radical scavenging ability.^[1]

Cultivation

P. incisa var. incisa is cultivated on a small-scale commercial basis for essential oil production and for bushfood spice. P. incisa prefers well-drained soils and in poorly drained soils it can be susceptible to root-rot. It has reasonable frost tolerance down to -5 degrees celsius. 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 Prostanthera ovalifolia.

References