The first time I saw and identified crimson sage (Salvia henryi) was years ago just outside Paradise in the Chiricahua Mountains. ..”just outside Paradise” is a wonderful line… anyway, Marian and I were checking out a native mulberry when we saw the bright red flowers of crimson sage on the same hillside. Later I learned later that John and Sara Lemmon collected it in the Chiricahua Mountains in 1882. The Lemmons sent their plant collections back east to Asa Gray for identification and naming. It was Gray who named the species henryi after the botanist Augustine Henry who collected and botanized in China. Jeez, talk about an argument for species names maybe being something about the plant itself. Oh well, henryi it is.
Oh, oh, oh and oh, the sage in your kitchen cupboard is Salvia officinalis. That species name officinalis means run don’t walk to your local apothecary and get some because the plant has medicinal qualities. Now you know.
The photos are mine.
