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Salvia littae

Salvia littae
Photo: Eugenio Padilla https://www.inaturalist.org/people/eugenio_padilla, CC BY-SA 4.0

Salvia littae is a perennial sage from the cloud forests of Oaxaca, Mexico, grown for its magenta flowers and lush leafy growth. It needs partial shade, moist soil and cool conditions to thrive, and it spreads readily by rooting stems.

Family
Lamiaceae (Mint family)
Grows as
Perennial
Light
Part shade
Water
Keep soil evenly moist during growth and water when the top layer begins to dry.
Soil
Rich, well-drained, humus-rich soil.
Temperature
12–24 °C; protect below 0 °C.
How easy
Easy
Native range
Mexico (Guerrero, Oaxaca)
Climate
subtropical

About

Salvia littae is a herbaceous perennial native to the Mexican state of Oaxaca, growing at elevations of 8,000-10,000 feet. The plants typically grow in some shade in groups at the edge of moist oak forest, or cloud forest.

Salvia littae grows 4–6 feet tall and up to 6 feet wide, forming thickets when left alone. The plant puts out many leafy stems which easily root when they touch the ground. The 1-3 inch medium-green leaves grow profusely on the plant, and are glabrous and rounded. Inflorescences reach up to 1 foot tall, with the flowers growing in tight verticils. The 1 inch flowers are a brilliant magenta, and covered with hairs. The upper lip is upright, and the lower lip is wide open. The two-part lower lip appears curled under, unusual in salvia plants. The small calyx is a bright lime-green, adding to the attractiveness of the flowers.

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 littae by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.

The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.

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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