''Salvia greatae'' is a species of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

in the mint family,

Lamiaceae The Lamiaceae ( ) or Labiatae are a family (biology), family of flowering plants commonly known as the mint, deadnettle, or sage family. Many of the plants are aromatic in all parts and include widely used culinary herbs like basil (herb), ba ...

. Its common names include Orocopia sage and lavender sage.

Distribution

The plant is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, where it is found in the mountainous

Colorado Desert The Colorado Desert is a part of the larger Sonoran Desert located in California, United States, and Baja California, Mexico. It encompasses approximately , including the heavily irrigated Coachella, Imperial and Mexicali valleys. It is home to ...

of southern Riverside and northern Imperial Counties, mainly in the Orocopia and

Chocolate Mountains The Chocolate Mountains of California are located in Imperial and Riverside counties in the Colorado Desert of Southern California. The mountains stretch more than 60 miles (100 km) in a northwest to southeast direction, and are located ...

.''Salvia greatae''.
NatureServe. 2012. This plant grows in

Sonoran Desert The Sonoran Desert () is a hot desert and ecoregion in North America that covers the northwestern Mexican states of Sonora, Baja California, and Baja California Sur, as well as part of the Southwestern United States (in Arizona and California). It ...

ecoregion

habitat In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ...

s, on

floodplain A floodplain or flood plain or bottomlands is an area of land adjacent to a river. Floodplains stretch from the banks of a river channel to the base of the enclosing valley, and experience flooding during periods of high Discharge (hydrolog ...

s and along the edges of washes. It is scattered in distribution but it can be a dominant species in patches of appropriate habitat.

Description

''Salvia greatae'' forms a low, rounded

shrub A shrub or bush is a small to medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees by their multiple ...

under tall, its many branches coated in tangled, glandular hairs. The non-deciduous, hairy leaves are up to 2 centimeters long, the edges lined with several long, sharp-pointed teeth tipped with spines. Flowers are borne in interrupted clusters along the stem branches. Each flower has a double-lipped tubular corolla about a centimeter long in a shade of pinkish purple. The corolla is surrounded by spiny

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 Etymology The term ''sepalum'' ...

s.''Salvia greatae''.
The Jepson eFlora, 2013. It is aromatic.

References

External links

Calflora database: ''Salvia greatae'' (Orocopia sage, lavender sage)''Salvia greatae''.
USDA PLANTS.
''Salvia greatae'' — UC Photo gallery
greatae Endemic flora of California Flora of the California desert regions Flora of the Sonoran Deserts Natural history of the Colorado Desert Natural history of Imperial County, California Flora of Riverside County, California Critically endangered flora of California {{Salvia-stub