''Salvia interrupta'' is a

perennial plant A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

belonging to the family

Lamiaceae The Lamiaceae ( ) or Labiatae are a family of flowering plants commonly known as the mint, deadnettle or sage family. Many of the plants are aromatic in all parts and include widely used culinary herbs like basil, mint, rosemary, sage, savory ...

. It is native throughout the range of the

Atlas Mountains The Atlas Mountains are a mountain range in the Maghreb in North Africa. It separates the Sahara Desert from the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean; the name "Atlantic" is derived from the mountain range. It stretches around through Moroc ...

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

, growing between elevation in shaded arboreal forests and on limestone slopes.

Description

''Salvia interrupta'' has apple-green three-lobed leaves of various sizes, with short white hairs on the underside, with the plant appearing to grow in a basal rosette. The flower stalks grow to 2 ft, with verticils of 5–10 flowers growing on small peduncles that are widely spaced along the stalk. The spacing explains the plant's epithet, "''interrupta''", and contributes to the elegance of the flower stalk. The nearly 4 cm flowers are large and violet, with a wide lower lip that has at its center two distinct white lines leading insects to the pollen and nectar glands inside. The stalks are square when young, becoming round when mature, with two distinct dark purple-brown lines running up the length of the stalk. The plant is sometimes confused with '' Salvia candelabrum'', which has undivided leaves as compared to ''S. interrupta'', due to the similarity of the flower stalks. '' Salvia ringens'' also looks similar to ''S. interrupta''— it has longer petioles and repeat blooms more frequently. In cultivation, flowering usually begins in late spring or early summer and repeats heavily in October. The flower stalks last well as

cut flowers Cut flowers are flowers or flower buds (often with some stem and leaf) that have been cut from the plant bearing it. It is usually removed from the plant for decorative use. Typical uses are in vase displays, wreaths and garlands. Many gardene ...

. In his 1933 classic ''The English Flower Garden'', William Robinson described ''Salvia interrupta'' as one of the most beautiful border plants. The dramatic flowering stalks tend to get lost in the midst of other plants, so it is better for the front of borders, where its tidy foliage can be seen when not in bloom. It also works well as a dramatic single specimen in a large pot.

History

''Salvia interrupta'' was first scientifically described in 1801 by the Danish

botanist Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...

Peder Kofod Anker Schousboe, who was the Danish consul at

Tangier Tangier ( ; ; ar, طنجة, Ṭanja) is a city in northwestern Morocco. It is on the Moroccan coast at the western entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar, where the Mediterranean Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Spartel. The town is the cap ...

from 1801 to 1832. Schousboe was an avid collector of plants for the

University of Copenhagen Botanical Garden The University of Copenhagen Botanical Garden ( da, Botanisk have), usually referred to simply as Copenhagen Botanical Garden, is a botanical garden located in the centre of Copenhagen, Denmark. It covers an area of 10 hectares and is particularly ...

and described many species from Morocco and

Mauritania Mauritania (; ar, موريتانيا, ', french: Mauritanie; Berber: ''Agawej'' or ''Cengit''; Pulaar: ''Moritani''; Wolof: ''Gànnaar''; Soninke:), officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania ( ar, الجمهورية الإسلامية ...

. Prior to its formal 1801 description, it was first mentioned in an unofficial survey of Moroccan flora circa 1791–1793 by Schousboe. Soon after its discovery, ''S. interrupta'' was brought to Europe sometime before 1870. More than a hundred years later, the plant has become widely grown both in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

and continental

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q891029 interrupta Flora of Morocco