Virginia Tech Dendrology

fragrant sage Lamiaceae Salvia clevelandii (A. Gray) Greene symbol: SACL
Leaf: Opposite, simple, evergreen, narrowly elliptical to lanceolate in shape, to 3 inches in length; woolly-tomentose and gray-green above and below; aromatic.
Flower: Species is monoecious; bright purple-blue, in whorls borne on a 12 inch spike; individual flowers to 1/2 inch with long pistils and stamens extending beyond the pea-like coralla; very aromatic; appearing mid-summer.
Fruit: Small shiny nutlets borne in husks.
Twig: Red-brown to gray-brown and pale-tomentose.
Bark: Red-brown to gray-brown.
Form: A rounded straggling shrub to four feet tall with arching branches that root where they touch the ground.
Looks like: white sage - purple sage - black sage - rockrose

Additional Range Information: Salvia clevelandii is native to North America. Range may be expanded by planting. Download the full-size PDF map.
External Links: USDA Plants Database
All material 2021 Virginia Tech Dept. of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation; Photos and text by: John Seiler, Edward Jensen, Alex Niemiera, and John Peterson; Silvics reprinted from Ag Handbook 654; range map source information