Westringia eremicola

A shrub to 1.5 metres tall, spreading up to 1 metre wide.

It has a large natural distribution, growing from the far south coast of NSW, through all the tablelands subdivisions, as well as central and northern western slopes and just into the western plains (as far as Griffith). It extends into Queensland, as far north as north-west of Bundaberg and further west to the south of Rolleston. It has a patchy distribution right across Victoria and grows in the south of South Australia, to the north of Elliston, and also Kangaroo Island. Unsurprisingly, there is some noted variation in some of the populations.

It typically grows in dry sclerophyll woodland and mallee shrublands, on sandy soils.

Westringia spp. have simple and opposite or whorled leaves, usually in whorls of 3 to 5. In this species, they are linear and slightly prickly, to 20 mm long by about 1.5 mm wide, carried in whorls of three; non-aromatic, green to grey-green and hairy on both surfaces.

Flowers have a shape described as labiate (applies to all Lamiaceae flowers) with 5 petals varying in their size, fused at their base, produced in leaf axils. One of the identification features which separates Westringia from Prostanthera is that the 5 calyx parts (basal whorl of the flower) are separated into 5 parts, whereas they are fused into 2 ‘lips’ in Prostanthera. Flowers are typically solitary but clustered heavily in leaf axils, appearing as leafy racemes. In this species, white or mauve/purple flowers, often with orange dots, to about 1 cm long, are carried in the leaf axils. Spring and summer are the main flowering periods but sporadic flowering may occur at other times.

The fruit of Westringia are small mericarps or ‘nutlets’. A cluster of 4 is produced at the base of each flower after pollination. They are only 1 to 2 mm long.