| Salvia leucophylla | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Purple sage flowers | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Lamiales |
| Family: | Lamiaceae |
| Genus: | Salvia |
| Species: | S. leucophylla |
| Binomial name | |
| Salvia leucophylla | |
Salvia leucophylla, the San Luis purple sage [1] or gray sage, is an aromatic sage native to the southern coastal mountain ranges of the Californias.
S. leucophylla is an evergreen shrub that grows up to 1 to 1.5 metres (3+1⁄2 to 5 feet) tall and wide. The leaves are a light green in the spring, turning grayish-white as they mature, with graceful branches that arch to the ground, sometimes rooting when they touch the ground. Flowers grow in tight whorls on 15 to 20 centimetres (6 to 8 inches) long inflorescences, with a pinkish-purple flowering stem. The 2.5 cm (1 in) flowers are pinkish-purple, held in a purple-tinged gray calyx. [2]
The plant's specific epithet, leucophylla, describes the light grayish leaves. The type specimen was collected near Santa Barbara, California, by Scottish botanist David Douglas and named by Edward Lee Greene in 1892. The common names refer to the pale purple flowers (purple sage) or to the grayish leaves (gray sage). [2]
The plant is native to the southern coastal mountain ranges of California and Baja California, [2] typically being found on dry hillsides and in gravelly soils. [2]
The species is widely used in California and xeriscape gardening, preferring full sun and good drainage. There are many cultivars, natural hybrids, and wild hybrids with other Salvia species, making clear naming very confusing.
Some cultivars include:
Salvia leucophylla is known to have allelopathic qualities. It is thought that monoterpenoids released from the plant may be responsible for inhibiting the growth of neighboring seedlings. [3] [4]
Salvia officinalis, the common sage or sage, is a perennial, evergreen subshrub, with woody stems, grayish leaves, and blue to purplish flowers. It is a member of the mint family Lamiaceae and native to the Mediterranean region, though it has been naturalized in many places throughout the world. It has a long history of medicinal and culinary use, and in modern times it has been used as an ornamental garden plant. The common name "sage" is also used for closely related species and cultivars.
Salvia mellifera is a small, highly aromatic, evergreen shrub of the genus Salvia native to California, and Baja California, Mexico. It is common in the coastal sage scrub of Southern California and northern Baja California. Black sage has a dark appearance, especially during drought.
Salvia apiana, the Californian white sage, bee sage, or sacred sage is an evergreen perennial shrub that is native to the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, found mainly in the coastal sage scrub habitat of Southern California and Baja California, on the western edges of the Mojave and Sonoran deserts.
Salvia spathacea, the California hummingbird sage or pitcher sage, is a species of flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae, native to southern and central California growing from sea level to 610 m (2,001 ft). This fruity scented sage blooms in March to May with typically dark rose-lilac colored flowers. It is cultivated in gardens for its attractive flowering spikes and pleasant scent.
Salvia 'Celestial Blue', is a hybrid cross between Salvia clevelandii and S. pachyphylla, and possibly involving Salvia 'Pozo Blue' — which is itself a cross between S. clevelandii and S. leucophylla. The hybrid parents are native to California.
Adenostoma fasciculatum, commonly known as chamise or greasewood, is a flowering plant native to California and Baja California. This shrub is one of the most widespread plants of the California chaparral ecoregion. Chamise produces a specialized lignotuber underground and at the base of the stem, known as a burl, that allow it to resprout after fire has off burned its stems. It is noted for its greasy, resinous foliage, and its status as one of California's most iconic chaparral shrubs.
Purple sage has various uses, mostly referring to plants or to Zane Grey's novel Riders of the Purple Sage, set in Utah. There is disagreement about what plant Grey had in mind.
Salvia sonomensis is a low-growing perennial plant that is endemic to California.
Salvia lyrata, is a herbaceous perennial in the family Lamiaceae that is native to the United States, from Connecticut west to Missouri, and in the south from Florida west to Texas. It was described and named by Carl Linnaeus in 1753.
Artemisia californica, also known as California sagebrush, is a species of western North American shrub in the sunflower family.
Lepechinia fragrans is a flowering herbaceous shrub known by the common names island pitchersage and fragrant pitchersage. It is a member of the Lamiaceae, or mint family, but like other Lepechinia, the flowers are borne in racemes instead of in mintlike whorls.
Salvia pratensis, the meadow clary or meadow sage, is a species of flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae, native to Europe, western Asia and northern Africa. The Latin specific epithet pratensis means "of meadows", referring to its preferred habitat. It also grows in scrub edges and woodland borders.
Rhododendron maximum — its common names include great laurel, great rhododendron, rosebay rhododendron, American rhododendron and big rhododendron — is a species of Rhododendron native to the Appalachians of eastern North America, from Alabama north to coastal Nova Scotia.
Salvia greggii, the autumn sage, is a herbaceous perennial plant native to a long, narrow area from southwest Texas, through the Chihuahuan Desert and into the Mexican state of San Luis Potosi, typically growing in rocky soils at elevations from 5,000 to 9,000 ft. It was named and described in 1870 by botanist Asa Gray after Josiah Gregg, a merchant, explorer, naturalist, and author from the American Southwest and Northern Mexico, who found and collected the plant in Texas. It is closely related to, and frequently hybridizes with, Salvia microphylla. Despite the common name "autumn sage", it blooms throughout the summer and autumn.
Malosma is a plant genus which contains only a single species, Malosma laurina, with the common names laurel sumac and lentisco (Spanish). Malosma laurina is found along the southern California and Baja California coasts of the Pacific Ocean.
Salvia clevelandii, the fragrant sage, blue sage, Jim sage and Cleveland sage, is a perennial plant that is native to Southern California and northern Baja California, growing below 900 m (3,000 ft) elevation in California coastal sage and chaparral habitat. The plant was named in 1874 by Asa Gray, honoring plant collector Daniel Cleveland.
Salvia microphylla, the baby sage, Graham's sage, or blackcurrant sage, is an evergreen shrub found in the wild in southeastern Arizona and the mountains of eastern, western, and southern Mexico. It is a very complex species which easily hybridizes, resulting in numerous hybrids and cultivars brought into horticulture since the 1990s. The specific epithet microphylla, from the Greek, means "small leaved". In Mexico it is called mirto de montes, or "myrtle of the mountains".
Dudleya verityi is a rare species of succulent plant known by the common name Verity's liveforever. It is endemic to Ventura County, California, where it is known from only three occurrences in the vicinity of Conejo Mountain between Camarillo and Thousand Oaks. It probably occurs in a few additional locations nearby which have not yet been officially vouchered.
Salvia greatae is a species of flowering plant in the mint family, Lamiaceae. Its common names include Orocopia sage and lavender sage.
Salvia munzii is a semi-evergreen perennial species of sage known by the common name Munz's sage or San Miguel Mountain sage. It is native to northern Baja California, Mexico, and it can be found in a few locations just north of the border in San Diego County, California, where it is particularly rare. It is characterized by small leaves and clear blue flowers. It is a member of the coastal sage scrub and chaparral plant communities.
