Salvia buchananii

Salvia buchananii
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Asterids
Order: Lamiales
Family: Lamiaceae
Genus: Salvia
Species: S. buchananii
Binomial name
Salvia buchananii
Hedge

Salvia buchananii (Buchanan's sage) is a herbaceous perennial shrub that was only recently found in the wild in the northeastern extreme of the state of Querétaro, Mexico, after fifty years of cultivation as a garden plant.[1]

Velvet sage from Mexico at San Antonio Botanical Garden (2015)

History

Seed from a garden plant in Mexico City was taken to England about 1960, where it was grown by Sir Charles Buchanan. It is sometimes called Buchanan's fuchsia sage. Ian Charles Hedge then described Salvia buchananii in the Botanical Magazine in 1963.[2]

Description

S. buchananii grows 1–2 feet tall and 1 foot wide, with glossy green leaves widely spaced along the stem. The flowers are a rich magenta, about two inches long, which rarely set seed.[3]

It was found growing in cloud forest, pine-oak forest, and oak thicket in the far northeastern part of the state of Querétaro, Mexico. It is similar to Salvia blepharophylla.[1]

Award

This plant has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.[4]

Notes

  1. 1.0 1.1 Zamudio, Sergio; Bedolla-García, Brenda Y. (2013). "Descubrimiento de Salvia buchananii (Lamiaceae) en estado silvestre en Querétaro, México" (PDF). Revista Mexicana de Biodiversidad 84: 530–535. doi:10.7550/rmb.32447.
  2. "Lamiaceae Salvia buchananii Hedge". ipni.org. Retrieved 25 September 2014.
  3. Clebsch, Betsy; Barner, Carol D. (2003). The New Book of Salvias. Timber Press. p. 52. ISBN 978-0-88192-560-9.
  4. "RHS Plant Selector - Salvia buchananii". Retrieved 3 July 2013.