Salvia sclarea

Coarse, spreading-hairy (and toward the top glandular) biennial 5-15 dm, freely branched above, the branches with scattered verticils of fls and conspicuous, round-ovate, caudate-acuminate, often dry and anthocyanic bracteal lvs 1-3 cm; lowest lvs long-petiolate, with rugose, ovate to ovate-oblong, basally subcordate, toothed or doubly toothed blade 7-20 cm, the cauline lvs progressively smaller and less petiolate, in small plants often few; cal glandular and coarsely hairy, the upper lip with aristate lateral teeth 1.5-3 mm well separated from the shorter central tooth; cor blue (white) or marked with yellow, 1.5-3 cm, the upper lip strongly arched, longer than the tube and surpassing the lower lip; stamens exsert; 2n=22. Native of the Mediterranean region, occasionally escaped from cult. in the s. part of our range. June, July.

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

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