here are the pix, I hope.

Here is a link that might be useful: Salvia mohavensis

Salviakeeper,

What amazing pictures....thanks for sharing them! Don't know whether to be envious or even jealous, as this Salvia is impossible in the UK. I have germinated seeds...probably from Seedhunt or Alplains...easily. But after about 6 weeks...they always die...our climate is so wrong for this species, and S. funerea also. I tried several micro-climates in my home, garden, and glasshouse, with no success. Perhaps the only good thing about my failure is that the foliage of S. mohavensis stinks!!!!

But, never mind that, your plant is so beautiful!

Robin.

Salviakeeper:
Must be nice to live in California. So many Salvias you
can grow. I will have to enjoy your pictures.California
Salvia just melt here apiana does ok. I still have to put in spathacea plants.
Art

Thank you for posting these. There's supposedly a specimen or two of this near Keyes View in Joshua Tree NP, but I as unable to find them when I was there a couple of years ago.

What strikes me about the flowers of S. mohavensis is their similarity to many Monardellas. It shares the similar system of bracts below a spherical involucre. I wonder if the mimicry is driven by the co-evolution of a particular pollinator?

Interesting point rich. I dunno what pollinator(s) may visit monardellas and s. mohavensis. Sounds like we may never know with "colony collapse disorder" affecting the bee populations...although perhaps it's a butterfly that does this job for these cousin plants.
To ccroulet, I've not salvia hunted in JTNP for a while, they're not dog friendly there, but it seems like there's high country enough to find some mohavensis. I got a few specimens from Theodore Payne and the only one survivor from that group produced some weakly flower structures that never really opened that I could tell. This specimen is from MNP where I scooped a spoonful of wintertime sand from beneath a robust mohavensis specimen and cultivated a couple of chance seeds to seedlings.

The S. mohavensis near Keyes View are listed in Calflora and Consortium of California Herbaria. The collapse of European honeybee populations shouldn't have much effect on native salvias. There are native bees, bumble bees, hoverflies, butterflies, etc., to pollinate them. In the best of times most of the honeybee colonies are probably some distance away. However, FWIW, we've seen no shortage of honeybees in our yard. Right now, they particularly like buckwheat (Eriogonum fasciculatum). Honeybees ignore our S. clevelandii, currently in bloom. Presumably they can't get into the flowers, but they spent lots of time with the other Calif. salvias when they were blooming.

The pollinator may be hummingbirds; the Anna's hit all of my CA salvias. This is one that I am not yet growing, but I do have seeds. Any tips for successful germination/ growth?

voodoobrew, i've germinated the seeds in a shadehouse in blend of sunshine #3 and sand, seeds on the surface with a small amt of the mix ontop. Nothing fancy or electrical. Rainfall seems to be the best catalyst for germination but other than that, moderate rain or pipe water. Watch out for snails w/ your seedlings! I put up a barrier of dried dudleya leaves which are chalky and snails seem to stay away (d.brittonii or pulverenta leaves are good.) Like w/ all native salvias, once in the ground I surround the plants with rocks for moisture control and retention and temp stabilization. Some botanist gave me this hint a few years back and it really seems to make a difference.

Good luck!

Interesting. Why Sunshine #3? I've been using #1 with sand.

someone recommended sunshine #1 to me for apiana propagation and although it's recommended for germinating in 1" liners, I use 2" ones and it works awesome. I use it for veg propagation too.
A few bot gardens and nurseries have said they have difficulty with veg propagating apiana, (I know off topic) but I've had really good luck (more than 70% success) with Sunshine #3.I have three giant bales left of it so maybe when I get low I'll try #1!

In my S. apiana thread I used Sunshine #1 without sand. A nurseryman suggested adding sand to retard drying of the medium.

I mistakenly wrote somebody had recommended #1 mix when actually #3 was the recommended Sunshine formula...which is why I am using #3 instead of #1.
I only add small amounts of sand to the mix for use with plants from the desert, in my mind, to mimic the natural quick draining quality of their natural environment...which is practically opposite the effect of retarding the drying of the medium. Curious consequences of using sand...and whatever the reason, maybe the result is the same.