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| Salvia spathacea |
| Family: Lamiaceae (Mint) |
| Flowers — color: magenta, size: 1" long, type: tubular, lipped |
Hummingbird Sage has a tubular labiate [lipped] flower, about one inch long. The upper lip has two shallow lobes and the slightly longer lower lip droops then curls back. Stamens and pistil extend 1/2" past the flower's mouth. Each of the two red stamens has a dark anther with white pollen and the pistil has a split end. As the name suggests, hummingbirds enjoy this plant.
A half dozen buds form a whorl, radiating cluster, about the main stem. The buds are reddish brown and covered in white fuzz. The stem holds a stack of four to six clusters, resembling the stories of an Asian pagoda. The flowering section is often as long as the lower leafy section.
If a gardener removes a spent flower stalk after the blooms are gone, the plant may produce another flowering stem if it has sufficient resurces. But I have found the timing difficult in my garden.
Habit:
Hummingbird Sage is a perennial herb native to California. The main stem rises one to three feet, the top half devoted to flowers. The stem doesn't normally branch, but auxillary flower stalks may grow from the top leaf node, and then the second. Leaves surround the lower part in a mounding or a columnar form. The leaves have arrowhead-shape with two sharp corners at the base, up to eight inches long and two inches wide. The top of the leaf has a rough pebbly surface and indentations over the central vein and ribs. The bottom of the leaf is covered with short white hair. The leaf's petiole, short stem, has in 1/8" white hairs and may reach inches three long. But the top pair attach directly to the stem or have leaf-like wings. The leaves exude a musky sage aroma with hints of lemon.
Plants may be drought-deciduous [let lower leaves turn brown] in dry summers, but sufficient moisture can maintain evergreen plants over several seasons. Surviving specimens seem to perish after blooming, then be replaced by more and stronger plants from its roots. I have also observed fresh growth from a lower lateral node on a dead fallen stem that had bloomed in the previous season.
This sage will expand its territories by rhizomes and may produce large colonies. Hiking behind the Wind Caves at Gaviota, I found a bed of Hummingbird Sage over thirty feet in diameter that densely covered the trail. I could not step without crushing a beautiful plant.
Hummingbird Sage prefers shady areas under oak trees, at least partial shade. Often associated with California hedgenettle, a smaller plant with similar rough leaves (see the top and left of photo #2).