Purple Sage
Salvia leucophylla
Family: Lamiaceae
This plant is similar to the much more familiar cleveland sage (Salvia clevelandii) but with lighter, lavender flowers, sometimes almost white. Evergreen to about 5’ tall and can spread about 6-8’ or more depending on conditions. Smells great when brushed against or when raining.
Grow in full to part sun, with moderate water, good drainage, hardy to 10°.
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).
This plant has a long history of medicinal use. The flowers, leaves, and seeds are used as food.
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 plant's specific epithet, leucophylla, describes the light grayish leaves.
Native to the southern coastal mountain ranges of California and Baja California, typically found on dry hillsides and in gravelly soils.