Data provided by the participants of the Consortium of California Herbaria

View additional distribution information on the Jepson eflora

Salvia pachyphylla (Blue sage, Mountain desert sage) is a perennial shrub native to California, Nevada, and Arizona. In California, it grows between 5,000 to 10,000 ft (1,500 to 3,000 m) elevation on dry rocky slopes, blooming from July to September. It reaches 1 to 2 ft (0. 30 to 0. 61 m) high, with blue-violet flowers, rarely rose, growing in dense clusters. In the course of a study of the chemical composition of the flora used in Latin American popular medicine, Ivan C. Guerrero and coworkers have performed phytochemical studies of extracts of the aerial parts from Salvia pachyphylla and Salvia clevelandii . S. pachyphylla is used by indigenous communities for its medicinal properties in the treatment of flu symptom. The major secondary metabolites isolated from these species and the cytotoxic effects against five human cancer cells were reported for eight of the compounds obtained: carnosol, rosmanol, 20-deoxocarnosol, carnosic acid, isorosmanol, 7-methoxyrosmanol, 5,6-didehydro-O-methylsugiol, 8ß-hydroxy-9(11),13-abietadien-12-one, 11,12-dioxoabieta-8,13-diene, and 11,12-dihydroxy-20-norabieta-5(10),8,11,13-tetraen-1-one and pachyphyllone.

Plant type

Shrub

Size

1 - 3 ft Tall

Calscape icon
Color

Blue, Purple

Flowering season

Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall

Sun

Full Sun, Partial Shade

Water

Low

Ease of care

Moderate

Soil drainage

Fast

Soil description

Prefers sandy or gravelly soils.

Propagation

For propagating by seed: No treatment.

Site type

Dry slopes

Plant communities

Pinyon-Juniper Woodland, Yellow Pine Forest

Bats
Birds
Bees
Caterpillars
Butterflies

Butterflies and moths supported

1 confirmed and 7 likely

Confirmed Likely

Volupial Pyrausta Moth

Pyrausta volupialis

Climbing Cutworm

Abagrotis orbis

Anstenoptilia marmarodactyla

Alfalfa Looper Moth

Autographa californica