Mentha australis R.Br.

Rhizomatous perennial with stems to c. 30 cm tall; stem angles scabrid. Lvs shortly petiolate; lamina 2.5–4.5 × 0.5–1 cm, usually lanceolate, sometimes ovate-lanceolate, not rugose, distantly serrulate or nearly entire, nearly glabrous above, dotted with glands and mainly hairy on the veins below; base cuneate; apex acute. Verticels all axillary, densely puberulent; fls few to many, subsessile. Calyx 6–7 mm long, ± tubular, hairy outside, with some glandular scales; teeth subequal, aristate, < tube. Corolla 8–9 mm long, white, probably sometimes pale mauve; tube scarcely exserted from calyx, hairy inside. Stamens c. = corolla. Nutlets not seen.

[From: Webb et al. (1988) Flora of New Zealand. Volume 4.]