Branching annual 3-6 dm, the stem with minute recurved hairs; principal petioles 8-20 mm; lvs lance-linear to lanceolate, 3-5 cm נ4-12 mm, entire or with a few low teeth, gradually narrowed to the base; racemes erect, 5-10 cm, the internodes 8-15 mm; bracteal lvs lance- linear, 1-3 mm; fls 2(4) per node; cal at anthesis 6-7 mm, minutely hairy on the nerves only, the upper lip entire, 5-nerved, half as long as the tube; cor blue, 8-12 mm, the tube no longer than the cal; 2n=20. Dry sandy or gravelly soil of hillsides and prairies; O. to Io. and Mo., w. to N.C., Utah, and Mex., and sometimes adventive eastward. (S. lanceifolia, misapplied; S. lanceolata)

Gleason, Henry A. & Cronquist, Arthur J. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. lxxv + 910 pp.

©The New York Botanical Garden. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

Kearney and Peebles 1969, McDougall 1973

Duration: Annual Nativity: Native Lifeform: Forb/Herb General: Annual of varying habit, aromatic, without punctate-glandular leaves and flowers, stems square, sometimes tinged deep purple, herbage puberulent to somewhat glabrous. Leaves: Opposite, lanceolate to oblong-linear, margins with entire or serrulate, petioles 2-20 mm long. Flowers: Blue or bluish- white, borne in interrupted spikes in verticels of 2 opposite flowers, sometimes in leaf axils, the corolla strongly 2-lipped with the upper lip helmet-shaped, entire or 2-lobed, the lower lip spreading or drooping and 3-lobed. Calyx lobes bilabiate, persistent. 2 fertile stamens inserted in the tube of the corolla. Fruits: Four smooth nutlets. Ecology: Found on plains, mesas, rocky slopes, and open pine forest, from 4,000-7,000 ft (1219-2134 m); flowering July-October. Notes: The keys to this species are the annual habit, the lack of glandular-punctate vegetation, the blue or bluish-white flowers,the calyx lobes 2-lipped with with 12-13 ridges (nerves), the stamens inserted in the upper lip of the corolla, and the mostly linear-lanceolate leaves. Also look for this species in disturbed areas, roadsides, and pastures. The key to distinguishing between Salvia and Stachys is that Stachys has four stamens and a regular calyx, while Salvia has 2 stamens and the calyx is bilabiate. Ethnobotany: There is no specific use recorded for this species, but the genus was used as an infusion to treat measles, and eaten raw for kidney troubles. Synonyms: Salvia lancifolia Editor: LCrumbacher, 2011 Etymology: Salvia comes from the Latin salveo, "I am well," and an herb, Salvia, used for healing, while reflexa means bent sharply backwards.

From Flora of Indiana (1940) by Charles C. Deam

This western annual has been found established in a few counties. I found it to be well established in sandy soil in a barnyard about half a mile northeast of Leiter's Ford in Fulton County, and in a sandy truck garden along the Wabash River in Gibson County.

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Indiana Coefficient of Conservatism: C = null, non-native

Wetland Indicator Status: N/A