Salvia indica

Appearance

The plant has an erect and stately habit, forming a clump of rich grassy-green, ovate leaves with scalloped margins. The leaves are covered in long, soft, straight hairs. Inflorescences are composed of specialized flowering stems growing from the plant's center, some two to four feet high.

Widely spaced whorls of four to six flowers open slowly from the inflorescence. Individual flowers are two-lipped, with the one inch upper lip a shiny bright lilac color. The stubby lower lip has a trough with purple and brown spots on a white background. The flowers stay in bloom for quite a long time, nearly one month. The plant is typically propagated by seed, with seedlings often appearing near the plant.

Naming

It was first described by the taxonomist Carl Linnaeus in 1753. It is unknown why he gave it the specific epithet ''indica'', since the plant is not from India.

Habitat

The native habitat of ''Salvia indica'' includes rocky limestone slopes between 350 to 5,000 ft in elevation, where it flowers in April and May.

Uses

''Salvia indica'' shows potential medicinal use that is also seen in other members of the genus ''Salvia''. There is evidence that the extracts of plant have some anti-fungal qualities. A 2005 study found that extracts from the leaves and branches of ''S. indica'' had the highest inhibition rate of various pathogenic fungal colonies such as ''Stemphylium'' and ''Mucor''.