Salvia pinguifolia is a species of flowering plant

Flowering plant

The flowering plants , also known as Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta, are the most diverse group of land plants. Angiosperms are seed-producing plants like the gymnosperms and can be distinguished from the gymnosperms by a series of synapomorphies...

 in the 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...

 family that is native to 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...

, growing in Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. Its natural habitat

Habitat

* Habitat , a place where a species lives and grows*Human habitat, a place where humans live, work or play** Space habitat, a space station intended as a permanent settlement...

 is montane

Montane

In biogeography, montane is the highland area located below the subalpine zone. Montane regions generally have cooler temperatures and often have higher rainfall than the adjacent lowland regions, and are frequently home to distinct communities of plants and animals.The term "montane" means "of the...

 desert. Leaf shape is ovate-deltoid to oblong elliptical. S. pinguifolia had a somewhat different distributional range in the Late Wisconsin glacial period; for example, it was present in the Waterman Mountains

Waterman Mountains

The Waterman Mountains are a low mountainous landform in Pima County, United States. Numerous flora and fauna species are found in the Waterman Mountains, in the Pinyon-juniper woodland plant community. Notable among the tree species is the Elephant tree which species exhibits a contorted...

 of southeastern Arizona-(northern Pima County

Pima County, Arizona

-2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:*74.3% White*3.5% Black*3.3% Native American*2.6% Asian*0.2% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander*3.7% Two or more races*12.4% Other races*34.6% Hispanic or Latino -2000:...

), in that earlier epoch, but is no longer extant there.

Sources

• C. Michael Hogan. 2009. Elephant Tree: Bursera microphylla, GlobalTwitcher.com, ed. N. Stromberg
• A. Michael Powell. 1998. Trees and shrubs of the Trans-Pecos and adjacent areas, page 345