Salvia mellifera (Black Sage)

5/22/99 Eaton Canyon Trail, San Gabriel Mountains, Los Angeles County, CA

3/11/01 Charmless Wilderness Park, Santa Monica Mountains, 

Malibu, Los Angeles County, CA

12/30/18 Manzanita Trail, Santa Rosa Plateau Ecological Reserve,
Murrieta, SW Riverside County, CA

LIFE LIST NOTES:

COMMON NAME: Black Sage

SPECIES: Salvia mellifera

FAMILY: Lamiaceae (Mint Family)

LIFE LIST DATE: 5/22/1999

LOCATION: Eaton Canyon Trail, San Gabriel Mountains, Los Angeles County, CA

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Treatment from The Jepson Manual (1993):

Shrub, rarely prostrate, 1–2 m; hairs simple, some glandular

Leaf 2.5–7 cm, oblong-elliptic to obovate, puckered, upper surface ± glabrous, lower surface hairy

Inflorescence: clusters 1.6–4 cm wide; bracts oblong-elliptic to widely ovate, acute to spine-tipped, generally = calyx

Flower: calyx 6–8 mm, hairs wavy, upper lip minutely 3-lobed; corolla tube 5.5–9 mm, white to pale blue or lavender, rarely pale rose, upper lip 2-lobed; stamens and style slightly exerted

Fruit: nutlet 2–3 mm, generally brown

Ecology: Common. Coastal-sage scrub, lower chaparral

Elevation: 0–1200 m.

Bioregional distribution: Central Western California, Southwestern California 

Distribution outside California: n Baja California

Horticultural information: DRN, SUN: 7, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24 &IRR: 8, 9; CVS, including GRCVR; also STBL.