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Salvia spathacea

Salvia spathacea is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Salvia spathacea rather than just read about it. In short: Salvia spathacea, the California hummingbird sage or pitcher sage, is a species of flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae, native to southern and central California growing from sea level to 610 m (2,001 ft). This fruity scented sage blooms in March to May with typically dark rose-lilac colored flowers.

Salvia spathacea — main illustration
Salvia spathacea — illustration

Key takeaways

  • Salvia spathacea belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
  • Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
  • Connect Salvia spathacea to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
  • Reproduce the core statement of Salvia spathacea from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Salvia spathacea, the California hummingbird sage or pitcher sage, is a species of flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae, native to southern and central California growing from sea level to 610 m (2,001 ft). This fruity scented sage blooms in March to May with typically dark rose-lilac colored flowers. It is cultivated in gardens for its attractive flowering spikes and pleasant scent.

Distribution The pitcher sage is found in the California coast ranges from the Sacramento Valley south to the San Diego area. It is a common species that grows on open or shady slopes in moist oak woodland, chaparral, and coastal sage scrub not far from the Pacific Ocean.

Description Salvia spathacea is an evergreen perennial with flowering stems growing from a woody base, 30–150 cm (12–59 in) tall. When not flowering plants grow less than 50 cm (20 in) tall, forming clumps of sprawling foliage. Each plant produces a single flowering stem which rarely branches. It spreads by rhizomes and can form colonies up to 130 cm (51 in) in diameter. Like many species in the mint family it has very pronounced square stems, and the entire plant is covered with wavy glandular hairs. Its bright green leaves are 8–20 cm. long, and highly aromatic when crushed or touched. They are oblong to almost arrowhead-shaped at the base, and can be puckered with wrinkles, and have rounded teeth at the leaf edges. Like the rest of the plant, they are covered with hairs which make the plant soft to the touch. The hairs tend to be denser on the bottom surface of the leaves. The flowers are produced in clustered whorled inflorescences 15–30 cm (6–12 in) long and 6 cm in diameter on spike-like stems with each node on the top half of the stem having flowers. The inflorescences are subtended by showy bracts which can be ruby red to dark maroon or brown. The calyx is 1.5 to 3 cm. long. It is two-lipped, with the upper lip entire, or unlobed. Each corolla is tubular and 2.5-3.5 cm. long, with 2 lips. The upper lip of the corolla is 7–8 mm., with two shallow lobes, while the lower lip is longer, 10–12 mm. The two fertile stamens are attached to the corolla tube. The style is forked. Both the style and the stamens protrude outside the corolla tube. Flowers vary in color from green through light pink and magenta to purple. The fruits are 4 nutlets, dark brown to black in color. They are round to ovate, with a length of 3.5 to 6.5 mm.

Cultivation

Salvia spathacea is easy to grow in the garden, and is a very useful groundcover for dry shade under oaks. Unlike other California native sages, it spreads from underground rhizomes. It will also grow in the open, in ordinary garden soil, in part or even full sun. Supplemental water can help encourage a longer flowering season, but a late summer rest from watering is desirable. As the alternative common name suggests, it is used by feeding hummingbirds and will attract them to the garden. Deer and gophers generally leave this strongly aromatic plant alone. It easily propagates by seeds or rhizomes. Seeds should be collected as early as possible, or they can be predated by insects. S. spathacea can get powdery mildew, which can be treated with a spray of milk diluted in water. Several cultivars exist although some selections are stronger than others. One showy cultivar is "Confetti," which has both yellow and pink flowers on the same plant. The more robust cultivars include "Powerline Pink," with magenta to crimson flowers, which will grow in hot sun, even inland, and "Avis Keedy," which has light yellow flowers. Salvia spathacea has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.

References

Averett, Deborah Engle; Neisess, Kurt R.; Jepson Manual treatment for Salvia spathecea. Jepson Flora Project Interchange, Regents of the University of California. Bornstein, Fross, and O'Brien, 2005. California Native Plants for the Garden. Cachuma Press

External links Calflora Database: Salvia spathacea (hummingbird sage) Jepson eFlora—TJM2: Salvia spathacea Salvia spathacea — U.C. Photo gallery Media related to Salvia spathacea at Wikimedia Commons

Illustrations

Salvia spathacea illustration
Salvia spathacea illustration
Salvia spathacea: Salvia spathacea closeup. W. L. Jepson wrote in "The Flora of California" : "The folk generally admire its form, but even sedate botanists remember its richness of color and a certain opulence of habit in contrast with its chaparral habitat."
Salvia spathacea closeup. W. L. Jepson wrote in "The Flora of California" : "The folk generally admire its form, but even sedate botanists remember its richness of color and a certain opulence of habit in contrast with its chaparral habitat."

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Salvia spathacea

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Salvia spathacea claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Salvia spathacea before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Salvia spathacea ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Salvia spathacea

In research
Salvia spathacea appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry
Engineering practice reuses Salvia spathacea in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom
Salvia spathacea is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Drought-tolerant plants, Endemic flora of California, Garden plants of North America, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life
Look for Salvia spathacea outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.
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How to study Salvia spathacea in 20 minutes

  1. Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
  2. Close the page and write down what Salvia spathacea means in your own words.
  3. Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
  4. Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
  5. Explain Salvia spathacea out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Salvia spathacea in simple terms?

Salvia spathacea, the California hummingbird sage or pitcher sage, is a species of flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae, native to southern and central California growing from sea level to 610 m (2,001 ft). This fruity scented sage blooms in March to May with typically dark rose-lilac colored fl…

Why does Salvia spathacea matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Salvia spathacea?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Salvia spathacea.

Tags

  • Drought-tolerant plants
  • Endemic flora of California
  • Garden plants of North America
  • Natural history of the California Coast Ranges
  • Natural history of the California chaparral and woodlands
  • Natural history of the Central Valley (California)
  • Natural history of the Channel Islands of California
  • Natural history of the San Francisco Bay Area
  • Natural history of the Santa Monica Mountains
  • Natural history of the Transverse Ranges
  • NatureServe apparently secure species
  • Plants described in 1892

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