Hmm, I’m not doing a very good job of keeping up with botanical names. Either that or I’m making them up as I go. The current and correct name for the featured plant is Salvia lemmonii. So hey, I was right the first time when I was jabbering away and I do like the name that honors botanists John and Sara Lemmon. Oh, and in the past it had been Salvia microphylla var. wislizenii. Arg!
Regardless of the name it’s a beautiful flowering native of our sky islands and found from 6,000’ to 8,000’ in elevation. In a personal landscape I doubt it would like the low desert unless you hid it in a very shady spot and it would still need to live through summer heat. Better to take a hike to your nearest mountain range. It starts to bloom mid summer and into the fall. What a coinkydink, as that’s a great time to escape summer heat and head to the hills!
The photos are mine and taken in the Chiricahua Mountains. If you are a plant geek that loves Salvia spp. you may like the book The New Book of Salvias, sages for every garden, by Betsy Clebsch. And below is a link to SEINet and Salvia lemmonii. Yay!
http://swbiodiversity.org/seinet/taxa/index.php?taxon=Salvia+lemmonii&formsubmit=Search+Terms
