Salvia sagittata
Encyclopedia
Salvia sagittata is a herbaceous perennial native to the Andes
Mountains, growing at elevations from 9,500-10,500 feet. The specific epithet refers to the arrow-shaped leaves. The plant was collected and named in 1798 by Hipólito Ruiz López
and José Antonio Pavón Jiménez
, two Spaniards who were trained in botany and pharmacology. They two were commissioned by the government of Spain to go to the New World
in search of new medicinal and agricultural plants, spending ten years in Peru and Chile.
Salvia sagittata is a stately plant that reportedly reaches 7.5 feet tall in the wild and about 2.5 feet in cultivation. It is well covered with yellow-green leaves with a rugose surface—the back of the leaf is heavily ribbed and veined, and covered with short white hairs. The inflorescences are quite viscid, reaching up to 2 feet long above the leafy stems, appearing thin and wiry. The 1 inch flowers are a brilliant and striking blue, with a wide spreading lower lip, and a pistil and two yellow stamens projecting from the hooded upper lip.
Andes
The Andes is the world's longest continental mountain range. It is a continual range of highlands along the western coast of South America. This range is about long, about to wide , and of an average height of about .Along its length, the Andes is split into several ranges, which are separated...
Mountains, growing at elevations from 9,500-10,500 feet. The specific epithet refers to the arrow-shaped leaves. The plant was collected and named in 1798 by Hipólito Ruiz López
Hipólito Ruiz López
Hipólito Ruiz López , or Hipólito Ruiz, was a Spanish botanist known for researching the floras of Peru and Chile during an expedition under Carlos III from 1777 to 1788...
and José Antonio Pavón Jiménez
José Antonio Pavón Jiménez
José Antonio Pavón Jiménez or José Antonio Pavón was a Spanish botanist known for researching the flora of Peru and Chile during an expedition under Carlos III from 1777 to 1788...
, two Spaniards who were trained in botany and pharmacology. They two were commissioned by the government of Spain to go to the New World
New World
The New World is one of the names used for the Western Hemisphere, specifically America and sometimes Oceania . The term originated in the late 15th century, when America had been recently discovered by European explorers, expanding the geographical horizon of the people of the European middle...
in search of new medicinal and agricultural plants, spending ten years in Peru and Chile.
Salvia sagittata is a stately plant that reportedly reaches 7.5 feet tall in the wild and about 2.5 feet in cultivation. It is well covered with yellow-green leaves with a rugose surface—the back of the leaf is heavily ribbed and veined, and covered with short white hairs. The inflorescences are quite viscid, reaching up to 2 feet long above the leafy stems, appearing thin and wiry. The 1 inch flowers are a brilliant and striking blue, with a wide spreading lower lip, and a pistil and two yellow stamens projecting from the hooded upper lip.