''Salvia interrupta'' is a

perennial plant In horticulture, the term perennial (''wikt:per-#Prefix, per-'' + ''wikt:-ennial#Suffix, -ennial'', "through the year") is used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annual plant, annuals and biennial plant, biennials. It has thus been d ...

belonging to the 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 ...

. It is native throughout the range of the

Atlas Mountains The Atlas Mountains are a mountain range in the Maghreb in North Africa. They separate the Sahara Desert from the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean; the name "Atlantic" is derived from the mountain range, which stretches around through M ...

in Morocco, growing between elevation in shaded arboreal forests and on limestone slopes.

Description

''Salvia interrupta'' has apple-green three-lobed leaves of various sizes, with short white hairs on the underside, with the plant appearing to grow in a basal rosette. The flower stalks grow to 2 ft, with verticils of 5–10 flowers growing on small peduncles that are widely spaced along the stalk. The spacing explains the plant's epithet, "''interrupta''", and contributes to the elegance of the flower stalk. The nearly 4 cm flowers are large and violet, with a wide lower lip that has at its center two distinct white lines leading insects to the pollen and nectar glands inside. The stalks are square when young, becoming round when mature, with two distinct dark purple-brown lines running up the length of the stalk. The plant is sometimes confused with '' Salvia candelabrum'', which has undivided leaves as compared to ''S. interrupta'', due to the similarity of the flower stalks. '' Salvia ringens'' also looks similar to ''S. interrupta''— it has longer petioles and repeat blooms more frequently. In cultivation, flowering usually begins in late spring or early summer and repeats heavily in October. The flower stalks last well as

cut flowers Cut flowers are flowers and flower buds (often with some Plant stem, stem and leaf) that have been cut from the plant bearing it. It is removed from the plant for decorative use. Cut greens are leaves with or without stems added to the cut flow ...

. In his 1933 classic ''The English Flower Garden'', William Robinson described ''Salvia interrupta'' as one of the most beautiful border plants. The dramatic flowering stalks tend to get lost in the midst of other plants, so it is better for the front of borders, where its tidy foliage can be seen when not in bloom. It also works well as a dramatic single specimen in a large pot.

History

''Salvia interrupta'' was first scientifically described in 1801 by the Danish

botanist Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...

Peder Kofod Anker Schousboe, who was the Danish consul at Tangier from 1801 to 1832. Schousboe was an avid collector of plants for the

University of Copenhagen Botanical Garden The University of Copenhagen Botanical Garden (), usually referred to simply as Copenhagen Botanical Garden, is a botanical garden located in the centre of Copenhagen, Denmark. It covers an area of 10 hectares and is particularly noted for its ext ...

and described many species from Morocco and

Mauritania Mauritania, officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, is a sovereign country in Maghreb, Northwest Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Western Sahara to Mauritania–Western Sahara border, the north and northwest, ...

. Prior to its formal 1801 description, it was first mentioned in an unofficial survey of Moroccan flora circa 1791–1793 by Schousboe. Soon after its discovery, ''S. interrupta'' was brought to Europe sometime before 1870. More than a hundred years later, the plant has become widely grown both in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

and continental

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q891029 interrupta Flora of Morocco