''Salvia brandegeei'' is a perennial evergreen shrub in the mint family known by the

common Common may refer to: Places * Common, a townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland * Boston Common, a central public park in Boston, Massachusetts * Cambridge Common, common land area in Cambridge, Massachusetts * Clapham Common, originally com ...

names Santa Rosa Island sage or Brandegee's sage. It is a fragrant plant characterized by lavender flowers and dark green leaves. For many years, it was thought to be native only to Santa Rosa Island, one of the Channel Islands of California, until it was discovered along the coast of Baja California. It is threatened by development and mining along the mainland portions of its range, but otherwise has a stable population on Santa Rosa Island.

Description

This plant has dark green scalloped leaves and pale lavender flowers in tightly spaced whorls. The violet-gray calyx, combined with the wide open flower lips, make it a very showy flower.

Morphology

This plant grows as a

shrub A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...

, typically greater than 1 meter in height, or in a

prostrate Prostrate may refer to:- *Prostration, a position of submission in religion etc. *Prone position, a face-down orientation of the body *Prostrate shrub A prostrate shrub is a woody plant, most of the branches of which lie upon or just above the ...

form. This species is

heterostylous Heterostyly is a unique form of polymorphism and herkogamy in flowers. In a heterostylous species, two or three morphological types of flowers, termed "morphs", exist in the population. On each individual plant, all flowers share the same morph. ...

. The hairs ( trichomes) on this plant are branched. The leaves are 2 to 6 cm long, with the leaf blade shaped linear to linear-elliptic. The leaves are adaxially (upper surface) glabrous, and abaxially (lower surface) densely white-hairy. The margins (edges) of the leaves are rolled under, with small, rounded teeth. The inflorescence has clusters 1.5 to 2 cm wide. The

bract In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, or of ...

s are shaped ovate, with sharp tips. The flower has a

calyx Calyx or calyce (plural "calyces"), from the Latin ''calix'' which itself comes from the Ancient Greek ''κάλυξ'' (''kálux'') meaning "husk" or "pod", may refer to: Biology * Calyx (anatomy), collective name for several cup-like structures ...

7 to 8 mm large, with long hairs, and the upper lip minutely 3-lobed. The corolla tube is 7 to 8 mm long, colored a pale blue to lavender, with the upper lip 3 to 3.5 mm long, and the lower lip 3 to 4 mm long. The

stamen The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filame ...

s are more or less included (not projecting beyond the mouth of the corolla).

Taxonomy

This plant was originally placed as a subspecies of '' Salvia mellifera'', of which it resembles slightly, but it is

. This species is named after Townshend and Mary Katharine Brandegee, a husband and wife duo of pioneering western botanists who collected plants throughout California and Baja California.

Distribution and habitat

This species can be found on Santa Rosa Island, California and on a strip of coast in Baja California. This plant is widespread on Santa Rosa Island, even becoming co-dominant in numerous large, healthy populations. It is found in the

shrubland Shrubland, scrubland, scrub, brush, or bush is a plant community characterized by vegetation dominated by shrubs, often also including grasses, herbs, and geophytes. Shrubland may either occur naturally or be the result of human activity. It m ...

on the island. In Baja California, the plant is found on the immediate coast from the vicinity of Ensenada south to San Quintin, in a 40-mile long strip. It is found in Baja California in habitats of maritime succulent scrub and

chaparral Chaparral ( ) is a shrubland plant community and geographical feature found primarily in the U.S. state of California, in southern Oregon, and in the northern portion of the Baja California Peninsula in Mexico. It is shaped by a Mediterranean c ...

Conservation

In total, this plant's population is not very large, as it is only found on Santa Rosa Island and a portion of the Baja California coast. This plant is fairly widespread and has a healthy population on Santa Rosa Island, although it was previously threatened by overgrazing from non-native herbivores. In Baja California, development along the coast and mining are threats, although there are limited details of these pressures. A NatureServe assessment places this species as G2, imperiled.

Cultivation

In cultivation, the plant will reach 4–5 feet tall and up to wide. It likes full sun, dry conditions, and will grow on sandy or clay soil. It can tolerate temperatures down to 0 °F for several hours.

References

External links

USDA Plants ProfileJepson manualPhoto gallery
{{Taxonbar, from=Q767573 brandegeei Flora of California Flora of Baja California Taxa named by Philip A. Munz Natural history of the Channel Islands of California Natural history of Baja California