Salvia spathacea
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 Salvia spathacea, Gaviota State Park, California
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| Salvia spathacea Greene |
Salvia spathacea (Pitcher Sage or Hummingbird sage) is a species of sage native to southern and central California. It is a member of the Lamiaceae, or mint family. The sage genus is very large, with approximately 900 species worldwide, of which most are found in the tropical and subtropical Americas. S. spathacea has a strong odor which evokes fruity, minty and sage aromas.
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[edit] Distribution
It is found in the California coast ranges from the Sacramento Valley south to the San Diego area to the south. It grows in on open or shady slopes in oak woodland, chaparral, and coastal sage scrub. It is generally is found in association with oaks, in moist soils not far from the Pacific Ocean.
[edit] Characteristics
S. spathacea is an evergreen, perennial herbaceous plant with a woody base, growing to 1 m tall, although usually only the flowering stems reach this height. Otherwise, the plant is often .5 m high or less and sprawling. Unlike most sages, the flowering stems are mostly single, only rarely branching. It spreads by rhizomes and can form colonies of approximately 1.3 m. in diameter. It has the very pronounced square stems of the mint family. The entire plant is covered with wavy hairs and has many glands.
Its bright green leaves are 8-20 cm. long, and highly aromatic when crushed or touched. They are oblong to almost arrowhead-shaped at the base, and can be puckered, with rounded teeth at the leaf edges. Like the rest of the plant, they are covered with hairs which make the plant soft to the touch. The hairs can be more dense on the bottom surface of the leaves.
The flowers are produced in a whorled inflorescence 15-30 cm long and 6 cm diameter at the top of the stem. The inflorescences are subtended by showy bracts which can be ruby red to dark maroon or brown. The calyx is 1.5 to 3 cm. long. It is two-lipped, with the upper lip entire, or unlobed. Each corolla is tubular and 2.5-3.5 cm. long, with 2 lips. The upper lip of the corolla is 7-8 mm., with two shallow lobes, while the lower lip is longer, 10-12 mm. The two fertile stamens are attached to the corolla tube. The style is forked. Both the style and the stamens protrude outside the corolla tube. Flowers vary in color from green through light pink and magenta to purple.
The fruits are 4 nutlets, dark brown to black in color. They are round to ovate, with a length of 3.5 to 6.5 mm.
[edit] Horticulture
Salvia spathacea is easy to grow in the garden, and is a very useful groundcover for dry shade under oaks. It will also grow in part or even full sun, but requires a little more water to look attractive in full sun. As the alternative common name suggests, they are used by feeding hummingbirds and will attract them to the garden. It easily propagates by seeds or rhizomes. Seeds should be collected as early as possible, or they can be predated by insects. S. spathacea can get powdery mildew, which can be treated with a spray of milk diluted in water. Several cultivars exist although some selection are stronger than others. One showy cultivar is "Confetti," which has both yellow and pink flowers on the same plant. The more robust cultivars include "Powerline Pink," with magenta to crimson flowers, which will grow in hot sun, even inland, and "Avis Keedy," which has light yellow flowers.
[edit] References
Averett, Deborah Engle; Neisess, Kurt R.; Jepson Manual treatment for Salvia spathecea. Jepson Flora Project Interchange, Regents of the University of California.[Online]*Jepson Flora Project: Salvia spathacea
Bornstein, Fross, and O'Brien, 2005. California Native Plants for the Garden. Cachuma Press
