Towards resolution of the Prostanthera ovalifolia R.Br. assemblage (Lamiaceae: Prostantheroideae): clarification of P. cineolifera R.T.Baker & H.G.Sm. and description of three new species

Ruth L. Palsson; Rose L. Andrew; Ian R. H. Telford; Robert T. Miller; Jeremy J. Bruhl

doi:10.1071/SB24003

RESEARCH ARTICLE (Open Access)

Previous Contents Vol 38(3)

Towards resolution of the Prostanthera ovalifolia R.Br. assemblage (Lamiaceae: Prostantheroideae): clarification of P. cineolifera R.T.Baker & H.G.Sm. and description of three new species

Ruth L. Palsson

^A , Rose L. Andrew

^A , Ian R. H. Telford

^A , Robert T. Miller ^B and Jeremy J. Bruhl

^A ^*

+ Author Affiliations

- Author Affiliations

^A N.C.W. Beadle Herbarium and Botany, University of New England, Armidale, NSW 2351, Australia.

^B Cumberland Flora & Fuana Interpretive Services, 13 Park Road, Bulli, NSW 2516, Australia.

^* Correspondence to: jbruhl@une.edu.au

Handling Editor: Michael Bayly

Australian Systematic Botany 38, SB24003 https://doi.org/10.1071/SB24003

Submitted: 19 February 2024 Accepted: 2 May 2025 Published: 11 June 2025

© 2025 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND)

Abstract

The circumscription and application of Prostanthera ovalifolia R.Br. appears to have been based largely on leaf shape, leading to a geographically and morphologically diverse concept of the species. This approach has completely or partially subsumed other species (namely P. atriplicifolia A.Cunn. ex Benth., P. latifolia (Benth.) Domin, P. lanceolata Domin and P. cineolifera R.T.Baker & H.G.Sm.), and included considerable variation hypothesised by some authors as distinct species (viz. P. sp. Hawkesbury (B.J. Conn 2591), P. sp. Olney State Forest (R.L. Palsson 166) and P. sp. Oxley Wild Rivers National Park (J.B. Williams s.n. NE 91044)). Morphological and molecular data, supported by phytochemical data, are used to partially resolve the taxonomy of this group. The circumscription of Prostanthera cineolifera is clarified and the name lectotypified. Three new species from New South Wales are recognised: Prostanthera dyarubbin Palsson & R.T.Mill., P. faucicola Palsson & I.Telford and P. milleri Palsson & J.J.Bruhl. Prostanthera milleri fits the criteria of Critically Endangered. We also lectotypify Prostanthera ovalifolia.

Keywords: DNA, morphology, new species, Prostanthera dyarubbin, Prostanthera milleri, Prostanthera faucicola, single-nucleotide polymorphism, SNP, species delimitation, taxonomy, typification.

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