''Salvia polystachya'' is a

herbaceous perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also widel ...

native to central Mexico and south into Guatemala and Panama, typically growing at elevations from 5,000 to 10,000 feet in mild climates where there is some summer rain. It is rarely seen in

horticulture Horticulture is the branch of agriculture that deals with the art, science, technology, and business of plant cultivation. It includes the cultivation of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, herbs, sprouts, mushrooms, algae, flowers, seaweeds and no ...

. ''Salvia polystachya'' grows up to 3–9 feet in one season, preferring the shelter of other plants because the stems become very brittle. It blooms in late summer or early fall, with .5 inch flowers that are violet-blue at the edge and fading to white at the center. Many short and slender spikes with verticils of tightly held flowers give the plant its specific epithet '' polystacha''. The leaves are yellow-green, 1 inch long and wide, and grow in small clusters. Polystachynes A-E

From the aerial parts of ''Salvia polystachya'' five neo-clerodane

diterpenoids Diterpenes are a class of chemical compounds composed of four isoprene units, often with the molecular formula C20H32. They are biosynthesized by plants, animals and fungi via the HMG-CoA reductase pathway, with geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate being ...

, polystachynes A-E, have been isolated. The structures were established by

spectroscopic methods Applied spectroscopy is the application of various spectroscopic methods for the detection and identification of different elements or compounds to solve problems in fields like forensics, medicine, the oil industry, atmospheric chemistry, and ...

. Other clerodanes such as salvifaricin, linearolactone and dehydrokerlin were also isolated.Maldonado and Ortega. Polystachynes A-E, five cis-neo-clerodane diterpenoids from ''Salvia polystachya. Phytochemistry'' (2000). 53, 103-109

References

polystachya ''Polystachya'', abbreviated Pol in horticultural trade, and commonly known as yellowspike orchid, is a flowering plant genus in the orchid family (Orchidaceae). This rather distinctive genus was described by William Jackson Hooker in 1824 and is ...

Flora of Guatemala Flora of Mexico Flora of Panama {{Salvia-stub