Stats

Lifespan: Perennial
Size: Medium
Diet: Photosynthetic
Biome: Coastal sage scrub
Range: North America
Movement: Sessile
Breeding: Seeds
Defense: Toxins
Status: Uncommon

About

Purple sage is a silvery-leaved shrub native to the coastal mountains of Southern California and Baja California. It is strongly allelopathic — volatile terpenes released from its leaves suppress germination of nearby plants, creating a conspicuous bare zone that rings each shrub.

Life cycle

1.
seed
A dormant seed waits for water and warmth before germinating.
2.
sprout
A first shoot emerges with cotyledon leaves and a tap root reaching down.
3.
sapling
A young plant grows true leaves and a stem or trunk, putting on height each season.
4.
mature
Fully grown, flowering or fruiting at adult size.

Learn more

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Taxonomy

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Lamiales
Family: Lamiaceae
Genus: Salvia
Species: Salvia leucophylla