Salvia leucophylla

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. Sclarea
Sectio: S. sect. Echinosphace
Species: Salvia leucophylla
Name

Salvia leucophylla Greene, Pittonia 2: 236. 1892.

Synonyms

Basionym
Audibertia nivea Benth., Labiat. Gen. Spec.: 313 (1833).
Homotypic
Audibertiella nivea (Benth.) Briq., Bull. Herb. Boissier 2: 73 (1894).
Ramona nivea (Benth.) Briq. in H.G.A.Engler & K.A.E.Prantl, Nat. Pflanzenfam. 4(3a): 287 (1896).

Distribution
Native distribution areas:

Continental: Northern America
Regional: Southwestern USA
California
Regional: Mexico
Mexico Northwest

References: Brummitt, R.K. 2001. TDWG – World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions, 2nd Edition
References
Primary references

Greene, E.L. (1892) Pittonia; a Series of Papers Relating to Botany and Botanists 2: 236.

Additional references

Govaerts, R.H.A. 2003. World Checklist of Selected Plant Families Database in ACCESS: 1-216203. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. [unavailable for the public] Reference page.

Links

Govaerts, R. et al. 2022. Salvia leucophylla in World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published online. Accessed: 2022 May 13. Reference page.
Hassler, M. 2022. Salvia leucophylla. World Plants: Synonymic Checklists of the Vascular Plants of the World In: Roskovh, Y., Abucay, L., Orrell, T., Nicolson, D., Bailly, N., Kirk, P., Bourgoin, T., DeWalt, R.E., Decock, W., De Wever, A., Nieukerken, E. van, Zarucchi, J. & Penev, L., eds. 2022. Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life. Published online. Accessed: 2022 May 13. Reference page.
Tropicos.org 2022. Salvia leucophylla. Missouri Botanical Garden. Published online. Accessed: 13 May 2022.
International Plant Names Index. 2022. Salvia leucophylla. Published online. Accessed: May 13 2022.
USDA, ARS, Germplasm Resources Information Network. Salvia leucophylla in the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN), U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service. Accessed: 09-Oct-10.

Vernacular names
English: Purple sage, Gray sage, San Luis purple sage

Salvia leucophylla, the San Luis purple sage,[1] purple sage, or gray sage, is an aromatic sage native to the southern coastal mountain ranges of California and Baja California.[2]

Taxonomy

The plant's specific epithet, leucophylla, describes the light grayish leaves. The type specimen was collected near Santa Barbara, California by Scottish botanist David Douglas and named by Edward Lee Greene in 1892. The common names refer to the pale purple flowers (Purple sage) or to the grayish leaves (Gray sage).[2]
Description

Salvia leucophylla is an evergreen shrub that grows up to 1 to 1.5 m (3.3 to 4.9 ft) tall and wide. Leaves are a light green in the spring, turning grayish-white as they mature, with graceful branches that arch to the ground, sometimes rooting when they touch the ground. Flowers grow in tight whorls on 15 to 20 cm (5.9 to 7.9 in) long inflorescences, with a pinkish-purple flowering stem. The 2.5 cm (0.98 in) flowers are pinkish-purple, held in a purple-tinged gray calyx.[2]
Habitat

The plant is typically found on dry hillsides and in gravelly soils.[2]
Cultivation

Salvia leucophylla is widely used in California and xeriscape gardening, preferring full sun and good drainage. There are many cultivars, natural hybrids, and wild hybrids with other Salvia species, making clear naming very confusing.

Some cultivars include:

Salvia leucophylla 'Pt. Sal'
Salvia leucophylla 'Figueroa'
Salvia leucophylla 'Bee's Bliss'[2]

Salvia leucophylla is known to have allelopathic qualities. It is thought that monoterpenoids released from the plant may be responsible for inhibiting the growth of neighboring seedlings.[3][4]
References

USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Salvia leucophylla". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 28 October 2015.
Clebsch, Betsy; Barner, Carol D. (2003). The New Book of Salvias. Timber Press. pp. 174–176. ISBN 978-0-88192-560-9.
McClure, Susan (1994). Companion Planting. Rodale Press. ISBN 0-87596-616-0.
Nishida, Nami; Tamotsu, Satoshi; Nagata, Noriko; Saito, Chieko; Sakai, Atsushi (2005-05-01). "Allelopathic Effects of Volatile Monoterpenoids Produced by Salvia leucophylla: Inhibition of Cell Proliferation and DNA Synthesis in the Root Apical Meristem of Brassica campestris Seedlings". Journal of Chemical Ecology. 31 (5): 1187–1203. doi:10.1007/s10886-005-4256-y. ISSN 1573-1561. PMID 16124241. S2CID 20650192. Retrieved 2020-11-29.