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Thistle sage

Salvia carduacea

Thistle sage
Photo: Alan Vernon, CC BY 2.0
Family
Lamiaceae (Mint family)
Grows as
Annual
Native range
California to Mexico (N. Baja California)
Climate
subtropical

About

Salvia carduacea, the thistle sage, is an annual herb native to California and Baja California, found up to 1400 m elevation. It responds drastically to its environment, growing anywhere from 15 cm to 1 m in height. The wooly white basal leaves resemble a thistle's, with long spines, while the flowers grow in whorls on calyces that are wooly and spiny. The flowers are a vibrant lavender with bright orange anthers. The foliage is pungent, with a scent similar to citronella.

Other Salvia plants

Turkish Black Sage · Wuyi Mountain Sage · Salvia adoxoides · Egyptian Sage · Orange Sage · Mediterranean sage · African Blue Sage · Salvia alatipetiolata · Cederberg Sage · Handsome Sage · Algerian Sage · Salvia amethystina

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Salvia carduacea by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts are shared under the same licence.

Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.

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