Cedar Sage
Salvia roemeriana
Family: Lamiaceae
Shrubby perennial growing about 2’ tall and about 1’ wide. Red tubular flowers May into summer, and with irrigation, continuing into fall.
Full to part sun, moderate to regular water with good drainage, hardy to 0°F.
Flowers attract hummingbirds, butterflies, and many other nectar-seeking insects. Moth larval food plant for the Alfalfa Looper Moth (Autographa californica), Bilobed Looper Moth (Megalographa biloba), Virginian Tiger Moth (Spilosoma virginica), Wavy-Lined Emerald (Synchlora aerata), the geometrid Pherne subpunctata, and the plume moth (Anstenoptilia marmarodactyla).
There are 1045 species of Salvia all over the world. The genus name, salvia, comes from the Latin word salvia, which is related to the Latin words salvus (safe, healthy, secure) and salvēre (to heal, to feel healthy). The name refers to the medicinal properties of some plants in the genus. The species, roemeriana, is in honor of the German geologist Ferdinand von Roemer, who is known as the "father of Texas geology". Roemer lived in Texas from 1845 to 1847.
From central and west Texas south to Coahuila and Nuevo Leon in Mexico, usually growing in the shade of cedar brakes and oak woods and in shaded, rocky, limestone areas.