Salvia mexicana

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Life-forms

Classification System: APG IV

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiosperms
Cladus: Eudicots
Cladus: Core eudicots
Cladus: Asterids
Cladus: Lamiids
Ordo: Lamiales

Familia: Lamiaceae
Subfamilia: Nepetoideae
Tribus: Mentheae
Subtribus: Salviinae
Genus: Salvia
Subgenus: S. subg. Calosphace
Sectio: S. sect. Briquetia
Species: Salvia mexicana
Name

Salvia mexicana L., Sp. Pl. 1: 25. 1753.
Synonyms

Homotypic
Hemistegia mexicana (L.) Raf., Fl. Tellur. 3: 90. 1837.
Sclarea mexicana (L.) Mill., Gard. Dict. ed. 8: n.º 14. 1768.

Heterotypic
Jungia altissima Moench, Methodus: 379. 1794.
Salvia amethystina Salisb., Prodr. Stirp. Chap. Allerton: 74. 1796, nom. illeg.
Salvia lupulina Fernald, Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 35: 542. 1900.
Salvia melissifolia Desf., Tabl. École Bot., ed. 3: 94. 1829, nom. inval.
Salvia mexicana f. minor Sessé & Moc., Naturaleza (Madrid), ser. 2, 2(App.): 10. 1893.
Salvia mexicana var. major Benth., Labiat. Gen. Spec.: 297. 1833.
Salvia mexicana var. minor Benth. in DC., Prodr. 12: 337. 1848.
Salvia nitidifolia Ortega, Nov. Pl. Descr. Dec.: 53. 1798.
Salvia papilionacea Cav., Icon. 4: 9. 1797.

References

Govaerts, R. et al. 2015. Salvia mexicana in World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2015 Sep 14. Reference page.
Linnaeus, C. 1753. Species Plantarum 1: 25.

Vernacular names
English: Mexican sage

Salvia mexicana (Mexican sage) is a herbaceous shrubby perennial native to a wide area of central Mexico, growing at elevations from 2,600 to 8,500 feet (800 to 2,600 metres). It grows in tropical areas in the south and arid subtropical habitats in the north, often at the edges of forests.[1]

Salvia mexicana grows 3 to 9 feet (0.9 to 2.7 metres) tall and 3 to 4 feet (0.9 to 1.2 metres) wide in cultivation, with leaves ranging from mid-green and glabrous, to gray green with short hairs. The inflorescences also vary, in length and in size of flower. The color of flowers and calyces range from midnight-purple to purple-blue. The flowers bloom in late summer, in whorls that are produced abundantly for several months.

The earliest records of Salvia mexicana in horticulture are beginning in the 1970s at several botanical gardens. One popular cultivar is 'Limelight' (pictured at right), collected in the state of Querétaro, which has violet-blue flowers with large chartreuse-green calyces. 'Lollie Jackson' is a compact cultivar; 'Ocampo' is an upright cultivar growing to 7 feet (2 metres) — both are commonly sold in nurseries.[1]
Notes

Clebsch, Betsy; Barner, Carol D. (2003). The New Book of Salvias. Timber Press. p. 198. ISBN 978-0-88192-560-9.