Hummingbird Sage (Salvia spathacea)
Description
Salvia spathacea is an evergreen perennial with flowering stems growing from a woody base, 30-150 cm (12-59 in) tall. When not flowering plants grow less than 50 cm (20 in) tall, forming clumps of sprawling foliage. Unlike most sages, the flowering stems are produced singly from each plant and only rarely branch. It spreads by rhizomes and can form colonies up to 130 cm (51 in) in diameter. Like many species in the mint family it has very pronounced square stems, and the entire plant is covered with wavy glandular hairs. Its bright green leaves are 8-20 cm. long, and highly aromatic when crushed or touched. They are oblong to almost arrowhead-shaped at the base, and can be puckered with wrinkles, and have rounded teeth at the leaf edges. Like the rest of the plant, they are covered with hairs which make the plant soft to the touch. The hairs tend to be denser on the bottom surface of the leaves. The flowers are produced in clustered whorled inflorescences 15-30 cm (6-12 in) long and 6 cm in diameter on spike-like stems with each node on the top half of the stem having flowers. The inflorescences are subtended by showy bracts which can be ruby red to dark maroon or brown. The calyx is 1.5 to 3 cm. long. It is two-lipped, with the upper lip entire, or unlobed. Each corolla is tubular and 2.5-3.5 cm. long, with 2 lips. The upper lip of the corolla is 7-8 mm., with two shallow lobes, while the lower lip is longer, 10-12 mm. The two fertile stamens are attached to the corolla tube. The style is forked. Both the style and the stamens protrude outside the corolla tube. Flowers vary in color from green through light pink and magenta to purple. The fruits are 4 nutlets, dark brown to black in color. They are round to ovate, with a length of 3.5 to 6.5 mm.
Taxonomic tree
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Domain: Eukarya
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Kingdom: Plantae
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Phylum: Magnoliophyta
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Class: Magnoliopsida
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Order: Lamiales
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Family: Lamiaceae
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Genus: Salvia
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