Salvia interrupta
Encyclopedia
Salvia interrupta is a perennial plant
belonging to the family Lamiaceae
. It is native throughout the range of the Atlas Mountains
in Morocco
, growing between 1300 to 1500 ft (396.2 to 457.2 m) elevation in shaded arboreal forests and on limestone slopes.
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 4cm 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. 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 also out when not in bloom. It also works well as a dramatic single specimen in a large pot.
, who also was the Danish consul at Tangier
from 1801 to 1832. Schousboe was an avid collector of plants for the University of Copenhagen Botanical Garden
and described many species from Morocco and Mauritania
. 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
and continental Europe
.
Perennial plant
A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives for more than two years. The term is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter lived annuals and biennials. The term is sometimes misused by commercial gardeners or horticulturalists to describe only herbaceous perennials...
belonging to the family Lamiaceae
Lamiaceae
The mints, taxonomically known as Lamiaceae or Labiatae, are a family of flowering plants. They have traditionally been considered closely related to Verbenaceae, but in the 1990s, phylogenetic studies suggested that many genera classified in Verbenaceae belong instead in Lamiaceae...
. It is native throughout the range of the Atlas Mountains
Atlas Mountains
The Atlas Mountains is a mountain range across a northern stretch of Africa extending about through Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia. The highest peak is Toubkal, with an elevation of in southwestern Morocco. The Atlas ranges separate the Mediterranean and Atlantic coastlines from the Sahara Desert...
in Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
, growing between 1300 to 1500 ft (396.2 to 457.2 m) 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 pedunclesPeduncle (botany)
In botany, a peduncle is a stem supporting an inflorescence, or after fecundation, an infructescence.The peduncle is a stem, usually green and without leaves, though sometimes colored or supporting small leaves...
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 4cm 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
Salvia candelabrum
Salvia candelabrum is sub-shrubby species of the genus Salvia native to Spain. It is sometimes grown as a garden plant and diterpenes have been isolated from its green tissues....
, which has undivided leaves as compared to S. interrupta, due to the similarity of the flower stalks. Salvia ringens
Salvia ringens
Salvia ringens is a hardy herbaceous perennial native to the southern and eastern parts of the Balkan Peninsula, with many colonies growing on Mount Olympus, the traditional "home of the gods", at altitudes up to . Elsewhere, it grows in scrub and coniferous woodland between and...
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. In his 1933 classic The English Flower Garden, William Robinson
William Robinson (gardener)
William Robinson was an Irish practical gardener and journalist whose ideas about wild gardening spurred the movement that evolved into the English cottage garden, a parallel to the search for honest simplicity and vernacular style of the British Arts and Crafts movement...
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 also out 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 Peder Kofod Anker SchousboePeter Schousboe
Peter Schousboe, more fully Peter Kofod Ancher Schousboe was a Danish botanist. He was born in 1766 in Rønne, Denmark, and died in 1832 in Tangier, Morocco, having served as Danish consul general in Tangier from 1800 onwards. He conducted a botanical expedition in Spain and Morocco during the...
, who also was the Danish consul at Tangier
Tangier
Tangier, also Tangiers is a city in northern Morocco with a population of about 700,000 . It lies on the North African coast at the western entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar where the Mediterranean meets the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Spartel...
from 1801 to 1832. Schousboe was an avid collector of plants for the University of Copenhagen Botanical Garden
University of Copenhagen Botanical Garden
The University of Copenhagen Botanical Garden , usually referred to simply as Copenhagen Botanical Garden, is a botanical garden located in the centre of Copenhagen, Denmark...
and described many species from Morocco and Mauritania
Mauritania
Mauritania is a country in the Maghreb and West Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean in the west, by Western Sahara in the north, by Algeria in the northeast, by Mali in the east and southeast, and by Senegal in the southwest...
. 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
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
and continental Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
.