Salvia arizonica

Kearney and Peebles 1969, McDougall 1973

Duration: Perennial Nativity: Native Lifeform: Forb/Herb General: Perennial of varying habit, aromatic, with punctate-glandular leaves and flowers, stems square, sometimes tinged deep purple, rootstocks creeping. Leaves: Opposite, glabrous on both sides, deltate-ovate, margins with small, rounded teeth, 2.5-4 cm wide. Flowers: Indigo blue, borne in interrupted spikes or terminal heads, the calyx laterally compressed and 2-lipped with small teeth, the corolla strongly 2-lipped with the upper lip helment-shaped, entire or 2-lobed, the lower lip spreading or drooping and 3-lobed. 2 fertile stamens inserted in the tube of the corolla, 2-cleft style surpassing the stamens. Fruits: Two smooth nutlets. Ecology: Found in rich, moist soils, in forests from 7,000-9,500 ft (2134-2896 m); flowering July-September. Notes: The keys to this species are the perennial habit, the indigo-blue flowers, the stamens inserted within the upper lip of the corolla, and the deltate leaves with the rounded teeth. Ethnobotany: There is no specific use recorded for this species, but the genus was used as an infusion to treat measels, and eaten raw for kidney troubles. Synonyms: None Editor: LCrumbacher, 2011 Etymology: Salvia comes from the Latin salveo, "I am well," and an herb, Salvia, used for healing, while arizonica means of or from Arizona.