I am certain this is a Salvia iodantha, and think it is the Southwest Native Seeds form. There is no terminal peloric flower and compact spike, eliminating the Huntington form, and the leaf aspect ratio (width to length) is too wide for it to be the supposed hybrid Louis Saso. The only other prospect I know of is the Baton Rouge form, which is quite tall (to 7 feet) and is not yet in wide distribution (at least, as far as I know).

Rich,
Thank you so much. I googled Salvia iodantha and I think you are right. After looking at many photos I think it might be Salvia iodantha "baton rouge".

Ariel

I saw a salvia today which was blooming, and over 7 feet tall. At first I didn't think it could be S. iodantha, because the color was not quite right (much darker than the form that I grow) and the flowers were not congested. I took pictures; they aren't very good, but I can email to anyone interested. The leaves are ~ 5 inches long by 2+ inches wide. The closest photo I could find is in the link below. I'm curious as to what it was that I saw (in Oakland).

Here is a link that might be useful: Which form of S. iodantha is this?

There is a form of S. iodantha called 'Louis Saso'.

Two photos on my site, but now sure that I made an error in the text, as they seem to be different plants. Unfortunately I don't have this plant any more. One photo shows flowers to be far less congested, but they were never the same colour as on your attachment. I think that iodantha, purpurea, and littae all hybridise freely in Mexico.

Hi Robin, thanks for your reply.

I just compared my photo next to the link above, and the flower color is exactly the same. I do have the Louis Saso form, and I'm pretty sure that this salvia was not the same. The leaves of this plant look different than my other iodantha forms; darker green, and significantly larger.

I don't believe the flowers were "fuzzy" enough to be littae. Anyway, it was growing at a kid's amusement park, so I decided to take a couple of small cuttings... the plant was enormous, so hopefully nobody minds. :) Let's see if I can get them to root!

Let us know!!!

I might have to go back to that park to get a better photo, haha. My macro setting was on the fritz or so. Another thing I want to mention is that the pistil/ stamens (help! I should know this!) is white on most pictures I've seen of Salvia iodantha. There was no white on the 'unknown' salvia, no bee line, nothing else. Just as you see in the "Cal Gardens" link that I posted earlier. The more I look at that photo, the more I think that it's the same plant that I saw.

To see what I mean about the white, compare photo in the link below with what I linked above.

Here is a link that might be useful: S. iodantha France

voodoobrew's Salvia iodantha from France looks like the onr originally from the Huntington Library and BG in Pasadena. I am told this clone is no longer in the H BG collection, but that SFBG (Strybing) and Annie's Annuals have it.

Its flower spike is highly congested, with a terminate, peloric (symmetrical) flower at the top, like the purple flower in Queen Anne's Lace.

The California Gardens form looks most like the iodantha form collected by Southwest Native Seeds, which may be S. townsendii from Sonora.

The Louis Saso form may be a hybrid, and the fourth form is from Baton Rouge, and may be the closest to true S. iodantha, according to Christian Froissart, if I remember correctly.

There are a number of other Sea of Cortez fuchsia tubular Salvias, like S. pringlei from Sinaloa. Dr. James Reveal, professor emeritus from the University of Maryland, collected Salvias in Mexico, and has posted some of his slides, including S. pringlei. Look under Lamiaceae.

Here is a link that might be useful: Dr. James Reveal's slides

im trying to hybridize iodantha and purpurea as we speak. i have them bagged and waiting to set seed. ill let you know how it goes come spring. I dont have littae....=(

brent

Brent, I've got littae, perhaps a couple of different forms? One is from Richard, one is Strybing form, and one is called "Oaxaca". The first has been blooming for a while now (am looking for seed), no sign of bloom from the second, and the latter is now setting buds. I can plan to take cuttings in spring, if you are interested.

I've just gone out and checked my iodanthas, and the form from Annie's is definitely a bit different from my latest form purchased from Strybing (called iodantha X tubiflora).

That would be awesome. i would love cuttings. we can trade more then. By then, ill have cuttings of everything rare/new and mail them to you.... Thanks!!

Brent

voodoobrew, the Louis Saso form has been described as iodantha x tubiflora.

My littae was from the first collection at Strybing. I did a walk-and-talk with Dennis Breedlove on a later visit, who showed me a more recent accession. I think it was more robust and upright. Dennis spent a lot of his time working on the flora of Chiapas, but might have also collected the Oaxaca one. Don Mahoney might know which are which.