Western Australian Peppermint

Appearance

"Agonis flexuosa" is usually a tree that typically grows to a height of 10 m, sometimes a wind-swept mallee or almost prostrate shrub. Its branchlets are often twisted or zig-zagged, and usually glabrous as they age. The leaves are very narrowly elliptic, narrowly elliptic or narrowly egg-shaped, 80–135 mm long and 3.5–12 mm wide and sessile or on a petiole up to 5 mm long. The leaves sometimes have soft, silky hairs when young, but become glabrous as they age, and have a prominent mid-vein and usually two other veins. The flowers are arranged in clusters 10–15 mm wide with broadly egg-shaped bracts and elliptic bracteoles 1–2 mm long. The floral tube is 1.5–2 mm long and the sepals are 1–2 mm long with silky, greyish hairs. The petals are white, spatula-shaped, 3–6 mm long and there are 20 to 25 stamens with 3 to 5, sometimes up to 7 opposite the sepals, but none opposite the petals. The filaments are 1–1.5 mm long and the style 1–2.5 mm long. Flowering occurs from July to December, and the capsule is broadly top-shaped to broadly cup-shaped, 2.5–4 mm long, in clusters 6–10 mm wide.

Distribution

"Agonis flexuosa" var. "flexuosa" occurs in a range of habitats from coastal heath to woodland or forest and in a range of soils, in the Esperance Plains, Geraldton Sandplains, Jarrah Forest, Swan Coastal Plain and Warren bioregions of south-western Western Australia, and var. "latifolia" mainly grows in sandy soil in heath, shrubland or woodland between Walpole and Cheyne Beach in the Esperance Plains, Jarrah Forest and Warren bioregions, with a record from the Stirling Range.

Cultural

Horticultural variants are probably derived from the widespread population, growing as shrubs or trees and perhaps being flowerless. Some commercially produced cultivars include "Agonis" ‘Belbra Gold’ and "Agonis" ‘Fairy Foliage’.