Hmm, I’m not doing a very good job of keeping up with botanical names. Either that or I’m making them up as I go. The current and correct name for the featured plant is Salvia lemmonii. So hey, I was right the first time when I was jabbering away and I do like the name that honors botanists John and Sara Lemmon. Oh, and in the past it had been Salvia microphylla var. wislizenii. Arg!
Regardless of the name it’s a beautiful flowering native of our sky islands and found from 6,000’ to 8,000’ in elevation. In a personal landscape I doubt it would like the low desert unless you hid it in a very shady spot and it would still need to live through summer heat. Better to take a hike to your nearest mountain range. It starts to bloom mid summer and into the fall. What a coinkydink, as that’s a great time to escape summer heat and head to the hills!
The photos are mine and taken in the Chiricahua Mountains. If you are a plant geek that loves Salvia spp. you may like the book The New Book of Salvias, sages for every garden, by Betsy Clebsch. And below is a link to SEINet and Salvia lemmonii. Yay!
http://swbiodiversity.org/seinet/taxa/index.php?taxon=Salvia+lemmonii&formsubmit=Search+Terms
Petey sure likes Wright’s bee brush. Let’s listen.
Bush muhly is the species Muhlenbergia porteri. There are over 40 species of muhlys found in Arizona and the southwest. It would be hard...
Looking at storms out across the land from our little homestead near the Ol’ Guajolote.
