| Black Sage |
| Salvia mellifera |
| Family: Lamiaceae (Mint) |
| Flowers — color: lavender, size: 1/8", type: tubular, lipped |
Black Sage flowers have two pale lavender lips. The upper lip has two lobes; the much larger lower lower lip has four. This sage has a strategy to reduce self-pollination. A pale forked stamen projects just below the upper lip of the flower. When a pollinator goes for nectar, this stamen bends and drops pollen on its back. The pistil is not receptive when pollen is first made, so the pollinator will move it to a different plant. The narrow throat of the flower restricts the size of pollinators for this plant.
A half dozen or more spherical flower clusters develop at the end of new branches. The clusters are larger near the base and much smaller at the top, reminding me of an Asian pagoda. After blooming, these clusters become seed pods.
Habit:
This sage is the namesake for the coastal sage scrub, in fact, it is the most common sage in California. It gathers moisture through a wide distribution of shallow roots — a four-foot shrub can send roots eight feet in all directions. It may root sprout after weak fires, but strong fires will destroy the shallow roots.
Black Sage is a perennial woody shrub. It can grow to six feet high and spread ten feet under ideal conditions, but most places and times aren't ideal. I found the skeleton of one specimen taller than my 8-foot reach and barely identifiable by some dying leaves still attached to its branches.
Each stem holds narrow lanceolate leaves, one to three inches long, in opposition. The dark green leaves have an almost shiny top surface with pebbly texture, the bottoms are lighter and slightly hairy. The edges are rough with fine scalloping. It has the herbal sage aroma tinged with orange [to my nose]. I find the leaves closely resemble monkeyflower's. The presence of last year's distinctive seed pods identify the sage, but immature plants are indistinguishable without close inspection. Black sage is drought-deciduous—large leaves produced in the rainy season fall away in dry times, while smaller leaves curl to reduce evaporation.
Black sage is a keystone species for this scrubland, named the Coastal Sage Scrub. It supplies all varieties of wildlife with nourishment and habitat. The species name means "honey-bearing", and its honey is spicy and treasured. Native Americans have used the seeds for food and found numerous medicinal uses as well.