Salvia eremostachya

Desert sage

Family: Lamiaceae · Type: shrub · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 4.3

Desert sage is a California native shrub found on the western edge of the Desert Mountains in dry, rocky, gravelly places within lower pinyon and juniper woodland at elevations of 450 to 1,400 meters. Flowering from March to May, this plant produces white to pale lilac flowers with rose to purple bracts in small clusters along each stem. Growing with an erect, finely branched structure 60 to 80 centimeters tall, it develops a distinctive form with linear leaves that are puckered and have minute rounded teeth. Its leaves are approximately 1.5 to 3.3 centimeters long with a truncate base, creating a unique textural appearance in its arid habitat. The fruit is small, approximately 3 millimeters long and yellow-brown in color.

Habitat: Dry, rocky, gravelly places, lower pinyon/juniper woodland

Bloom period: Mar-May

Elevation: 450-1400 m

Bioregions: w edge DSon

California counties: Riverside, San Diego, Los Angeles

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.