Salvia lycioides (Canyon sage) is a perennial native to a wide area ranging from west Texas and New Mexico in the U.S., south through Mexico to the state of San Luis Potosi. It typically grows on dry limestone hills and canyons above 5,000 feet elevation. It was named in 1886 by Asa Gray, the most respected American botanist of the 19th century.[1] The specific epithet, "lycioides", from the Greek, is due to the plant's resemblance to Lycium, a genus also known as "boxthorn" in the nightshade family.[2]
Salvia lycioides reaches about 1–1.5 feet in height and width, sprawling gracefully, with many branches growing up and out from its base. The small mistletoe-green leaves cover the plant, are less than 1 inch long and .5 inch wide, and are evergreen in a mild climate. The bright cornflower-blue flowers bloom mostly in the spring and fall, when the nights are cooler, with sparse blooming during the summer.[2]
It is relatively unknown in horticulture. A selection named "Guadalupe Mountain Form" has smaller leaves and flowers, which are a deep delphinium blue.[2]
Salvia cedrosensis is an evergreen fruticose perennial plant that is endemic to the western (Pacific) coast of Baja California in Mexico, growing on the Vizcaino peninsula and Cedros Island.
Salvia candidissima is a herbaceous perennial native throughout western Greece, and parts of Turkey, Iraq, and Iran, generally between 2000 and 6500 feet elevation. Several small stems grow almost horizontally from the roots before bearing upright inflorescences. The plant reaches 3 ft in height and width in the wild. The light green leaves, 6 in long by 4 in wide, are covered with hairs on both sides and often have notches on the edges. The leaves become lighter in color as the weather gets hotter. The 8–12 inch inflorescences are branched, with 1 inch flowers in whorls that are creamy white and sometimes tipped with a yellow lip. Salvia candidissima is one of a group of seven salvias that are closely related, grow in the same habitat, and easily hybridize with each other, resulting in a great deal of variety in the species.
Salvia chamelaeagnea is a species of flowering plant in genus Salvia, known as sages. It is endemic to South Africa, where it grows on the western coastline of the Cape of Good Hope. It is a shrubby perennial herb up to 6 feet tall and 4 feet wide. It bears three-quarters-inch (two-centimetre) light violet-blue flowers with pale lower lips and white throats. The small, green leaves release a slight medicinal odor when brushed. In the wild, the plant grows in sandy soil in streambeds, open fields, and roadsides. It is cultivated for gardens.
Salvia lanceolata is a perennial shrub native to a small area of coast on the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa. It is typically found growing in sandy ground at sea level, and on dry hills and flat ground up to 1000 feet elevation. Jean-Baptiste Lamarck, a pioneer in evolutionary theory, first described and named the plant "lanceolata" in 1791. Swedish botanist Carl Peter Thunberg, who was delayed in South Africa on the way to Japan, first collected it nearly twenty years earlier, along with approximately 3,000 plants that he later described. It wasn't until 1800 that Thunberg gave the plant the specific epithet "nivea", meaning 'snowy' in Latin, referring to the color of the foliage. Because of the rules of nomenclature, Lamarck's name had precedence because he was the first to name it.
Salvia littae is a herbaceous perennial native to the Mexican state of Oaxaca, growing at elevations of 8,000-10,000 feet. The plants typically grow in some shade in groups at the edge of moist oak forest, or cloud forest.
Salvia longispicata is a perennial shrub native to southwestern Mexico, growing between 1,000 and 6,500 feet elevation. The specific epithet "longispicata" gives the impression that the plant has "long spikes", but instead refers to the many projecting clusters of short flowering spikes that resemble small ears of corn.
Salvia melissodora is a woody perennial shrub native to elevations from 4,000 to 8,000 feet in the Sierra Madre Oriental mountain range in Mexico found by Diana Arias, from Chihuahua in the north to Oaxaca in the south. The plant is also called tarahumara, after the Tarahumara who have used the leaves and seeds for medicinal purposes for several hundred years.
Salvia merjamie is a herbaceous perennial plant that is native to the east African highlands from Ethiopia to Tanzania, and also across the Red Sea in Yemen. It grows between 6,000 and 13,000 feet elevation in grasslands, forest edges, rocky outcrops, basalt slopes, and fallow fields. The specific epithet merjamie is derived from meryamiye, the Arabian common name for the plant, which is shared with other local Salvia species such as Salvia lanigera. The Maasai common name for S. merjamie is Naingungundeu, meaning that the plant smells of rats, though the variety that is common in horticulture is named 'Mint Sauce' and is described as having a strong minty aroma. S. merjamie shares a similar distribution with Salvia nilotica, though they are not known to hybridize.
Salvia namaensis is an evergreen perennial shrub native to a limited area in Namibia and a wide area of South Africa. It is typically found growing on rocky slopes, shales, limestone hills, and sandy soils at 1,000 to 5,000 feet elevation. The specific epithet namaensis probably refers to the Nama tribe which is indigenous to Namaqualand, the region in Namibia where the plant grows.
Salvia polystachya is a herbaceous perennial native to central Mexico and south into Guatemala and Panama, typically growing at elevations from 5,000 to 10,000 feet in mild climates where there is some summer rain. It is rarely seen in horticulture.
Salvia prunelloides is a herbaceous perennial native to the Mexican states of Puebla and Mexico State. It was named in 1817 by Carl Sigismund Kunth for its similarity to Prunella vulgaris.
Salvia regla is a deciduous perennial that is native to a small area of the Chisos Mountains in west Texas and a large area of Mexico, in the states of Coahuila, Durango, and Oaxaca. The specific epithet is probably from the town of Regla in the state of Hidalgo. It is also referred to as the "queen of the Chisos Mountains". It has been widely planted along the Texas flyway for migrating birds, and is an important food source for hummingbirds returning to the tropics in September and October.
Salvia reptans is a widely distributed herbaceous perennial native to the mountains of the Trans-Pecos in Texas, and in Mexico and Guatemala. It typically grows in dry stream beds and gravelly soils. It was introduced into horticulture in the 19th century and was previously known as S. angustifolia and S. leptophylla, both of which refer to the slender leaves. The specific epithet reptans refers to the plant's creeping habit.
Salvia ringens is a hardy herbaceous perennial native to the southern and eastern parts of the Balkan Peninsula. With many colonies growing on Mount Olympus, the traditional "home of the gods," at altitudes up to 6,200 feet (1,900 m). Elsewhere, it grows in scrub and coniferous woodland between 1,600 feet (490 m) and 4,200 feet (1,300 m). It was grown in English gardens before 1913, and was described by William Robinson in the twelfth edition of The English Flower Garden in 1933. It dropped from sight before being rediscovered in the late 1990s.
Salvia rypara is a herbaceous perennial native to Argentina and Bolivia—due to its being very adaptable it is reported to be naturalized in Mexico and possibly Central America. It prefers stream bank habitats, as the specific epithet rypara implies. It also grows in weedy thickets, thriving at elevations under 3,000 feet. Described by John Isaac Briquet in 1896, it is not very well known in horticulture, with only a few gardeners growing it since the 1990s. It is becoming more well known in the United States, France, England, and Italy because it is easy to grow and makes a very attractive garden plant.
Salvia shannoni is a tender perennial native to the Mexican state of Chiapas, and to Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras, growing in or near pine forests at approximately 3,000–5,000 feet elevation. Its native habitat receives regular moisture in the form of fog, rain, and streams, with mild temperatures that stay above freezing. The plant was named by botanist John Donnell Smith in 1893 for William Cummings Shannon, who collected it in the wild. The two were apparently serving in the United States military at the same time. Even though it has been grown in Central America for many years, it is relatively new to horticulture in North America. In El Salvador it has been used for treating malaria, and is known as monte amargo, or "bitterwood.
Salvia somalensis is a perennial shrub endemic to a limited range and elevation in Somalia. It grows at elevations from 4,000 feet (1,200 m) to 7,000 feet (2,100 m), typically in forest clearings or edges as a common or dominant subshrub.
Salvia thymoides is an evergreen perennial shrub native to a small region in Mexico on the border of Oaxaca and Puebla states, growing at elevations from 7,000 feet (2,100 m) to 9,000 feet (2,700 m). Its native habitat is cloud forest, with the mountains catching regular moisture in the form of fog and rain. The plant was named by the botanist George Bentham in 1833, with the specific epithet, thymoides, referring to the small leaves which resemble those of thyme. It has a limited use in horticulture, introduced in the 1980s.
Salvia urica is a herbaceous perennial native to the mountains of Guatemala, Honduras, Belize, and Chiapas, Mexico. It is reportedly most common in Guatemala, where it grows in a wide variety of habitats from 1,000 to 8,000 feet elevation, in a mild and moist climate. The specific epithet, urica, means "caterpillar" or "cankerworm", possibly describing the tight whorls of flowers, calyces, and bracts before they open.
Salvia villosa is a herbaceous perennial that is native to the Mexican states of San Luis Potosi and Coahuila, growing at approximately 4,000 feet (1,200 m) elevation in dry areas that have little or no frost.
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