Salvia pachyphylla

Blue sage

Family: Lamiaceae · Type: shrub · Native

Blue sage is a California native shrub found in southern Sierra Nevada, Tehachapi, San Bernardino Mountains, Peninsular Ranges, and Desert Mountains in dry slopes and pinyon/juniper to yellow-pine forest at elevations of 1,200 to 3,050 meters. Flowering from February to October, this plant produces blue-violet to rose-colored flowers 8 to 13 millimeters long with intricate papery bracts ranging from green to purple. Growing as a low, prostrate shrub 20 to 80 centimeters tall that roots at its nodes, it spreads with a distinctive scaly appearance. Its obovate to spoon-shaped leaves measure 2 to 5 centimeters long with wavy, nearly entire margins that contribute to its soft, textured profile. The fruit is a small tan to brown structure 2.5 to 3 millimeters in length.

Habitat: dry slopes, pinyon/juniper to yellow-pine forest

Bloom period: Feb-Oct

Elevation: 1200-3050 m

Bioregions: s SNH, Teh, SnBr, PR, DMtns

California counties: San Bernardino, Kern, Riverside, Inyo, Tulare

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