Wild Sage
Stem Leaves
Ellura
Wild Sage
Bud stem, profile
 
                      
Wild Sage (Salvia verbenaca var verbenaca)Class: Plants (Plantae) - Land Plants (Charophyta) - Land Plants (Equisetopsida)
Order: Mints (Lamiales)
Family: Mint (Lamiaceae)     iNaturalist Observation
Species: Wild Sage (Salvia verbenaca var verbenaca)
This Photo:     Bud stem, ~5mm bud length

Thank you Mark (Vandalsen) for confirming the id of this species for us

General Species Information:
Found on Ellura (in the Murray Mallee, SA) and elsewhere
We found one of these on Ellura and took forever to work it out. In worldwide, it is considered a synonym of Salvia verbanaca.
However it's different. It's leaves are not as lobed and wider. It doesn't smell when crushed. It has red tints throughout the stems & leaves. Unfortunately the flower stem was eaten before we could get a photo of the flowers; only managing to photo buds.
It is certainly a strong relationship, and a sub-species makes sense to us. But being a synonym doesn't.
In the past they have been called "Type A" & "Type B". Now they have names.
This sub-species is recognised on the Australian national ANBG/APNI web sites.

Copyright © 2014-2024 Brett & Marie Smith. All Rights Reserved. Photographed 12-Mar-2014
This species is classed as If (Foreign Introduction)