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
I do love wandering around little towns and Willcox is a fun one to poke around in. And it is true that the town...
The scientific name for Mearns quail is Cyrtonyx montezumae. The genus refers to its big claws for scratching around in desert soils. It has...
I love following the drainages out of the mountains and across the deserts, observing all the plants and animals that follow them as well....