Salvia desoleana
Encyclopedia
Salvia desoleana is a herbaceous perennial shrub native to the island of Sardinia
in the Mediterranean. It is endemic to four or five specific locations on the island in sunny locations on limestone, granitic, and igneous rock. Salvia desoleana was named for the botanist Luigi Desole, and was first described in 1982.
It is a low-growing plant with elongated rhizomatous roots that grow parallel to the ground. Each plant forms a mound 2–3 ft (0.6096–0.9144 m) tall and 3–4 ft (0.9144–1.2 m) wide. The ovate leaves grow as large as 8 in (203.2 mm) by 6 in (152.4 mm), with both surfaces covered with hairs and glands, releasing a strong fragrance when crushed or brushed. The 1 foot (0.3048 m) have hairy stems, with evenly spaced whorls of six flowers, whose calyces include two 1 inches (25.4 mm) leafy green bracts. The one-inch flowers have a pale lavender upper lip, and an off-white trough-shaped lower lip.
Sardinia
Sardinia is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea . It is an autonomous region of Italy, and the nearest land masses are the French island of Corsica, the Italian Peninsula, Sicily, Tunisia and the Spanish Balearic Islands.The name Sardinia is from the pre-Roman noun *sard[],...
in the Mediterranean. It is endemic to four or five specific locations on the island in sunny locations on limestone, granitic, and igneous rock. Salvia desoleana was named for the botanist Luigi Desole, and was first described in 1982.
It is a low-growing plant with elongated rhizomatous roots that grow parallel to the ground. Each plant forms a mound 2–3 ft (0.6096–0.9144 m) tall and 3–4 ft (0.9144–1.2 m) wide. The ovate leaves grow as large as 8 in (203.2 mm) by 6 in (152.4 mm), with both surfaces covered with hairs and glands, releasing a strong fragrance when crushed or brushed. The 1 foot (0.3048 m) have hairy stems, with evenly spaced whorls of six flowers, whose calyces include two 1 inches (25.4 mm) leafy green bracts. The one-inch flowers have a pale lavender upper lip, and an off-white trough-shaped lower lip.