black sage
Salvia mellifera

Family: Lamiaceae.

Type:Evergreen shrub.

Branching: Opposite.

Leaves: Leaves have a bumpy texture that retains moisture. Their undersides are pale and can be hairy.

Twig: Stem is darker than other sages, and distinctively striped on older growth (see photo).

Fruit & Flower: Little pom-poms at the tips of branches, typical of the mint family. Flowers can be white or blue or purple in this species.

Miscellaneous: Common in the southern scrub (the sage scrub). Cooking sage is in the same family, the mint family, and black sage is very aromatic. Note that this is a different family from the California sagebrush, however; sage and sagebrush are different. In Southern California white sage and purple sage are also members of the sage scrub community, but they do not make it this far north. It resprouts rapidly after fire.





All photos and text ©2008 Ben Haller. Permission is granted to use and reproduce these photos for any non-commercial or non-profit use as long as this original copyright notice is retained.