Help identify a salvia

14 years ago

This salvia was an unfamiliar volunteer seedling in my yard last summer (Oakland, CA). I knew it was a salvia, so I transplanted it to a salvia-friendly area and waited. I thought it would be a S. Sagitatta because of the arrow-shaped leaves, but obviously not. The tallest flower spikes are approaching 5-feet and it's shrubby. Leaves are blue green and have a wonderful fragrance. Flowering is mid to late August and is dark pink with the slightest hint of purple. Look familiar??

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Comments (5)

hybridsage
14 years ago
Well I will wait for one the Californian's to jump in.
Has the habit like a penstemon,hard to tell.
Nice plant in any case.
Art
gaia-project
14 years ago
It's not a Salvia, it's the beautyful Lepechinia salviae.
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robinmi_gw
14 years ago
Also known as Lepechinia hastata.
rich_dufresne
14 years ago
This Lepechinia is hardy in USDA zone 7. I am trialling L. chamaedryoides from Chile this year, and L. graveolens from Argentina. Ginny Hunt has seed of L. bella. The first and last are quite showy.

The genus is generally called pitcher sage, and is taxonomically closely related to Salvia. Perhaps these should be discussed more frequently.
zdavid
Original Author
14 years ago
Thanks for the ID! I looked it up and that's it exactly. Still hard to believe it's not a Salvia, but I guess a close look at the flower form should have tipped me off. I am familiar with the more pedestrian looking (though still nice) California native L. fragrans, which I have tried and failed with some years ago. The L. hastata is such a beautiful plant, it's now my favorite (non)salvia.