Salvia greatae is a species of flowering plant in the mint family, Lamiaceae. Its common names include Orocopia sage and lavender sage.

Salvia greatae

Imperiled  (NatureServe)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Lamiales
Family: Lamiaceae
Genus: Salvia
Species:
S. greatae
Binomial name
Salvia greatae

Distribution

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The plant is endemic to California, where it is found in the mountainous Colorado Desert of southern Riverside and northern Imperial Counties, mainly in the Orocopia and Chocolate Mountains.[1]

This plant grows in Sonoran Desert ecoregion habitats, on floodplains and along the edges of washes. It is scattered in distribution but it can be a dominant species in patches of appropriate habitat.[1]

Description

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Salvia greatae forms a low, rounded shrub under 1 metre (3.3 ft) tall, its many branches coated in tangled, glandular hairs. The non-deciduous, hairy leaves are up to 2 centimeters long, the edges lined with several long, sharp-pointed teeth tipped with spines.

Flowers are borne in interrupted clusters along the stem branches. Each flower has a double-lipped tubular corolla about a centimeter long in a shade of pinkish purple. The corolla is surrounded by spiny sepals.[2] It is aromatic.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Salvia greatae. NatureServe. 2012.
  2. ^ Salvia greatae. The Jepson eFlora, 2013.
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