Salvia purpurea is a herbaceous perennial that is native to several Mexican states and south into Guatemala

Guatemala

Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...

, El Salvador

El Salvador

El Salvador or simply Salvador is the smallest and the most densely populated country in Central America. The country's capital city and largest city is San Salvador; Santa Ana and San Miguel are also important cultural and commercial centers in the country and in all of Central America...

, and Honduras

Honduras

Honduras is a republic in Central America. It was previously known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize...

. It was first described by Antonio José Cavanilles

Antonio José Cavanilles

Antonio José Cavanilles was a leading Spanish taxonomic botanist of the 18th century. He named many plants, particularly from Oceania, his name is abbreviated as Cav...

in 1793, though its use in horticulture is only recent and it is rarely sold by nurseries.

Salvia purpurea reaches up to 7 feet in height, less in width, with ovate yellow-green leaves that have serrated edges. Inflorescences begin appearing in mid-autumn, with the plant blooming into winter. The flowers are a pinkish purple-violet, in tight verticils that look like they are unbalanced on one side of the flower spike. The .75 inch flowers are tightly packed at the end of many flowering branches.