Cockspur-flower

Plectranthus parviflorus, the cockspur-flower, is a soft-stemmed perennial herb in the Lamiaceae family native to eastern Australia, New Zealand, and parts of the Pacific. The plant typically grows thirty to sixty centimetres tall, occasionally reaching a metre, with somewhat succulent, square stems that are usually covered with fine glandular hairs. The opposite leaves are broadly ovate to rhombic, fleshy, with bluntly toothed margins and a pleasant aromatic scent when crushed. Small two-lipped tubular flowers, pale mauve to bluish or sometimes whitish, are borne in slender terminal racemes through much of the warmer months. After flowering, four small smooth nutlets develop within the persistent calyx. The species favours rocky outcrops, cliff ledges, and shaded slopes in coastal and inland forests and is well adapted to dry, well-drained soils.