''Salvia lanigera'' (Libyan wild clary) is a small herbaceous perennial that is native from northern Egypt and Arabia, to the south of Turkey and Iran. It grows in low altitude deserts, in sandy loam and chalky sandstone soils. The specific epithet "''lanigera''" means "wool-bearing" or "fleecy", referring to the hairs that cover all parts of the plant. It was first described in 1817 by Jean Louis Marie Poiret, a French clergyman sent by
Louis XVI
Louis XVI (''Louis-Auguste''; ; 23 August 175421 January 1793) was the last King of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. He was referred to as ''Citizen Louis Capet'' during the four months just before he was ...
French Revolution
The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...
, Poiret became a professor at the
Grandes écoles Grandes may refer to:
* Agustín Muñoz Grandes, Spanish general and politician
*Banksia ser. Grandes, a series of plant species native to Australia
* Grandes y San Martín, a municipality located in the province of Ávila, Castile and León, Spain ...
in
Aisne
Aisne ( , ; ; pcd, Ainne) is a French department in the Hauts-de-France region of northern France. It is named after the river Aisne. In 2019, it had a population of 531,345.
In cultivation it grows from 4-8 inches high, and up to 1 foot in its native habitat. The plant is a soft pale gray-green color, giving off a pungent odor when brushed, and is covered with short erect hairs. The narrow leaves are deeply divided, with linear segments. The violet flowers grow in whorls of 6–8, and are held in a tiny calyx covered in long white hairs. In cold climates it is treated as an annual, freely reseeding itself, with seeds overwintering even in sub-freezing climates. It adapts itself to small spaces in between other plants, preferring full sun, lean soil, moderate irrigation, and good drainage.