Foliage is suspect, but the flowers look a bit like the Chinese Salvia trijuga......but surprised that it has flowered so soon. Can you send a pic of the whole plant?

Robin.

Thanks Robin, no the foleage is of guaranitica "Argentina Skies'. The only way for me to get a close up of the flower was to place it in front of something else with my camera, sorry I should have posted that info. I think I started the seeds in Jan. if I'm not mistaken. It stars as a rosette with very few leaves. But here's a picture of the leaves. Thanks again.

Helena

Here is a link that might be useful:

Really not sure now! As it is dark, I will have to wait until tomorrow to compare the foliage. I normally find that trijuga takes 5-6 months to flower from seed.

It is probably something else rather obvious which I am overlooking!

Robin.

Is it the Salvia yunnanensis I was growing last year, Helena?

Joseph

Hi Joseph, hopefully Robin will check his tomorrow. I did look at his picture of yunnanensis and it looks a lot alike. I know I got seeds from you a long while ago of that one and barrelieri. I got a few unusuals seedlings growing for me this year!

Helena

Well, I got some seed a few years ago from Tony Avent, who had collected them in China. I had called it yunnanensis at first, then changed it to trijuga on information from someone who knew more about the taxonomy of this group of sages. The Flora of China did not mention that trijuga had scarlet roots. Both are in the same group as S. miltiorrhiza, which also has red roots and contain diterpene compounds like danshione that have the same anxiolytic activity as Librium and Valium but not some of the side effects.

The foliage on my trijuga is not quite the same as on your pic, so it could well be S. yunnanensis as I recall this flowered much earlier. But they are similar plants!

By the way, Joseph, if you are there....did you get the 2 emails I sent you recently re glabrescens shi-ho? I was asking if you had supplied seeds to a certain nursery in the UK...as I don't know where else they would have obtained them from, just curious.

Regards, Robin.

Thank you Robin, Joseph and Rich. I do have seeds of s. trijuga & plant to try to compare.

Helena

Hi Robin, I have gotten your messages but the responses apparently have not gotten back to you from my yahoo account. I sent you a message thru GW mail system, so with hopes that works.

Joseph