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AGAVE AND YUCCA | CACTI | WILDFLOWERS

Salvia Carduacea, Thistle Sage


Plants > Wildflowers > Lamiaceae > Salvia Carduacea
Thistle Sage; Two flowers and many spiny bracts; salvia carduacea, Lava Falls, California
Two flowers and many spiny bracts; salvia carduacea, Lava Falls, California
Common name:
Thistle sage
Family:
Mint (Lamiaceae)
Scientific name:
Salvia carduacea
Main flower color:
Pink
Range:
South and central California
Height:
Between 4 and 40 inches
Habitat:
Gravelly or sandy locations in sagebrush, chaparral and coastal regions, from near sea level to 4,500 feet
Leaves:
Sessile, oblanceolate, pinnately lobed; usually up to 4 inches long
Season:
March to June
Pintrest
Bracts and leaves of salvia carduacea are prickly, partly lobed and hairy, hence the common name of thistle sage. Plants are found across the foothills and valleys of southern California, extending south into Baja California, and they vary in height from a few inches to several feet, depending on water and nutrient levels. Stems and foliage are covered by white, woolly hairs, most densely around the bracts subtending the flowers. True leaves are restricted to the base, and are also variable in length; usually up to 4 inches but sometimes up to three times this. Leaf margins are wavy, and bear sharp spines at quite widely-spaced intervals.

A single stem has up to four whorled clusters of flowers, at the tip and the upper nodes, subtended by spiny, spreading, lance-shaped bracts up to 2 inches long. The flowers have a spiny, lobed calyx and a large, lavender to purple (occasionally white) corolla, which opens widely to a two-lobed upper lip and a three-lobed lower lip. All lobes are fringed, some quite deeply. The corolla tube can be up to one inch in length. The stamens are exserted; they have purple filaments and red-orange anthers.




Whorled leaves and flowers
Whorled leaves and flowers
Thistle Sage
Flowers and bracts
Hairy stem and leaves
Hairy stem and leaves
Woolly hairs
Woolly hairs
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