Prostanthera magnifica, commonly known as Magnificent Prostanthera, is a flowering plant

Flowering plant

The flowering plants , also known as Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta, are the most diverse group of land plants. Angiosperms are seed-producing plants like the gymnosperms and can be distinguished from the gymnosperms by a series of synapomorphies...

 in the family Lamiaceae

Lamiaceae

The mints, taxonomically known as Lamiaceae or Labiatae, are a family of flowering plants. They have traditionally been considered closely related to Verbenaceae, but in the 1990s, phylogenetic studies suggested that many genera classified in Verbenaceae belong instead in Lamiaceae...

. It is endemic to Western Australia

Western Australia

Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...

. The species is a shrub

Shrub

A shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...

 growing to between 0.4 and 2.5 metres high. The flowers are mauve to pink and are framed by large, purplish-red calyces. These appear between August and November in the species native range.

The species was first formally described by botanist Charles Austin Gardner in 1942 in Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia.

The species occurs in woodland on sand, loam or clay soils.

Cultivation

Prostanthera magnifica prefers a sunny or partly shaded position in well drained soil. It is sensitive to both frost and humidity. Propagation is successful from both seed and cuttings, though seed germination is slow. Grafting is often used to produce a longer living plant with rootstock

Rootstock

A rootstock is a plant, and sometimes just the stump, which already has an established, healthy root system, used for grafting a cutting or budding from another plant. The tree part being grafted onto the rootstock is usually called the scion...

s including Westringia fruticosa

Westringia fruticosa

Westringia fruticosa is a shrub that grows near the coast in eastern Australia. The flowers are white, hairy and have the upper petal divided into two lobes. They also have orange-to-purply spots on their bottom half....

and Prostanthera striatiflora

Prostanthera striatiflora

Prostanthera striatiflora, commonly known as Jockey's Cap or Striped Mintbush, is a shrub species that occurs in the dry interior region of Australia. It grows to between 0.5 and 2 metres high. The leaves are 8 to 30 mm long and 2 to 10 mm wide...

.The latter gives rise to plants with a longer flowering period and less unwanted growth below the graft.