Family |
Lamiaceae
Salvia verbenaca
L.
Salvia verbenaca L.
First published in Sp. Pl.: 25 (1753).
(Nouvelle Flore du Liban et de la Syrie, vol. 3, pp. 168–169, Pl. LXXXV, 2; 1983)
Description
Life-form & habit: Perennial herb with ascending, simple or somewhat branched stems, 30–60 cm tall, bearing short greyish hairs and sometimes longer soft hairs.
Leaves: Ovate to oblong, wrinkled, with rounded teeth; blades may be undivided, lobed or deeply pinnately cut. Lower leaves stalked, upper leaves sessile and stem-clasping. Floral bracts rounded to heart-shaped, pointed and eventually bent backwards.
Inflorescence & flowers: Spaced whorls of four to six flowers. Calyx hairy, often coloured, ovate to bell-shaped; its upper lip is shallowly three-toothed and the lower has slender pointed teeth. Corolla small and blue, 5–10 mm long.
Flowering and habitat
Phenology: Flowering November–June.
Habitat & elevation: Gardens, abandoned ground and grassy places.
Distribution
Lebanese distribution: Nahr Aouali, Khalde, Beirut, Nahr el Kalb, Tripoli, Daatour, Beit Meri, Ghazir, Ksara, Chtaura, Mouallaqa, Baalbeck, north of Qaa and Kornet Chehwan.
Syrian distribution: Qattine near Lake Homs, Maaret en Noman–Khan Cheikhoun, Oumm el Amid, Bhamra, Haffe, Aleppo, Homs, Deraa, Latakia, Jerablous, Ain Tell, Mouslimiyeh and Qaryatein.
Native range: Albania, Algeria, Baleares, Bulgaria, Canary Is., Corse, Cyprus, East Aegean Is., Egypt, Eritrea, France, Great Britain, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Kriti, Krym, Lebanon-Syria, Libya, Madeira, Morocco, Netherlands, North Caucasus, NW. Balkan Pen., Palestine, Portugal, Sardegna, Sicilia, Sinai, Spain, Transcaucasus, Tunisia, Türkiye, Türkiye-in-Europe.
Introduced into: Alabama, Argentina Northeast, Argentina Northwest, California, Cape Provinces, China North-Central, Czechia-Slovakia, Delaware, Ecuador, Free State, Georgia, Germany, Lesotho, Maryland, Mexico Central, Mexico Southwest, Namibia, New Jersey, New Zealand North, New Zealand South, Norfolk Is., North Carolina, Northern Provinces, Pennsylvania, Peru, Romania, Tasmania, Ukraine, Uruguay, Virginia.