Salvia greggii (Autumn sage) is a herbaceous perennial native to a long, narrow area from southwest Texas, through the Chihuahuan Desert

Chihuahuan Desert

The Chihuahuan Desert is a desert, and an ecoregion designation, that straddles the U.S.-Mexico border in the central and northern portions of the Mexican Plateau, bordered on the west by the extensive Sierra Madre Occidental range, and overlaying northern portions of the east range, the Sierra...

 and into the Mexican state of San Luis Potosi

San Luis Potosí

San Luis Potosí officially Estado Libre y Soberano de San Luis Potosí is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 58 municipalities and its capital city is San Luis Potosí....

, typically growing in rocky soils at elevations from 5,000-9,000 feet. It was named and described in 1870 by botanist Asa Gray

Asa Gray

-References:*Asa Gray. Dictionary of American Biography. American Council of Learned Societies, 1928–1936.*Asa Gray. Encyclopedia of World Biography, 2nd ed. 17 Vols. Gale Research, 1998.*Asa Gray. Plant Sciences. 4 vols. Macmillan Reference USA, 2001....

 after J. Gregg, a Mexican trader who found and collected the plant in Texas. It is closely related to and frequently hybridizes with Salvia microphylla

Salvia microphylla

Salvia microphylla is a perennial shrub found in the wild in southeastern Arizona and the mountains of eastern, western, and southern Mexico. It is a very complex species which easily hybridizes, resulting in numerous hybrids and cultivars brought into horticulture since the 1990s...

. Contrary to its common name, it blooms throughout the summer and autumn.

Salvia greggii is a highly variable plant, with numerous named cultivars, reaching anywhere from 1–4 feet in height and less in width. It can be either upright or mounding. The leaves are typically mid-green and glabrous, tending to be less than 1 inch long. Flower size and color are extremely variable. Flowers reach from .25-1 inch in length, and include many shades of scarlet and red (most common in the wild), along with rose, white, pink, lavender, apricot, and violet. The plant is used widely in horticulture.

Popular named cultivars include 'Furman's Red', a cultivar from Texas that blooms profusely in autumn with dark red flowers. Big Pink has a large lower lip with a deep pink color and lavender tint. 'Purple Pastel' is a small variety that repeat blooms in autumn. 'Cherry Chief 'blooms reliably in the humid southern United States. 'Desert Pastel' has pale apricot flowers with yellow streaks, and prefers mild climates.