Burke: Salvia dorrii

	Salvia dorrii
	gray ball sage, purple sage
Habit	Much-branched shrubs, often broader than high, the rigid branches 2-5 dm. tall.
Leaves	Leaves opposite, numerous, often in bundles, silvery with a close, mealy pubescence, the blade oblanceolate to elliptic, 1.5-3 cm. long and 4-15 mm. wide, narrowed to a short petiole.
Flowers	Flowers in a series of dense, bracteate verticels at the ends of many of the branches; bracts broadly elliptic to obovate, purplish, 7-12 mm. long, dry, granular on the back; calyx two-lipped; corolla usually bright blue-violet, I cm. long, two-lipped, the spreading, 3-lobed lower lip much longer than the short, flat, 2-lobed upper lip; stamens 2, long-exerted; style narrow, long, 2-parted; ovary 2-celled, superior.
Fruits	Nutlets 4

	Salvia dorrii
Flowering time	May-July
Habitat	Dry, open, often sandy or rocky areas in sagebrush plains and foothills.
Distribution	Occurring east of the Cascades crest in Washington; Washington to California, east to Utah and Arizona. [WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]
Origin	Native
Conservation status	Not of concern
Sibling taxa	S. aethiopis, S. nemorosa, S. pratensis, S. sclarea, S. virgata, S. yangii
Subordinate taxa	S. dorrii var. incana
Web links	Local floras: CA, OR, WA Local Web sites: CalFlora, CalPhotos, Flora NW, PNW Herbaria, Turner Photog. WildflowerSearch iNaturalist (observations) USDA Plants Database LBJ Wildflower Center SEINet Plants of the World Online Encyclopedia of Life Wikipedia Google Image Search

Salvia dorrii

gray ball sage, purple sage

Habit

Much-branched shrubs, often broader than high, the rigid branches 2-5 dm. tall.

Leaves

Leaves opposite, numerous, often in bundles, silvery with a close, mealy pubescence, the blade oblanceolate to elliptic, 1.5-3 cm. long and 4-15 mm. wide, narrowed to a short petiole.

Flowers

Flowers in a series of dense, bracteate verticels at the ends of many of the branches;

bracts broadly elliptic to obovate, purplish, 7-12 mm. long, dry, granular on the back;

calyx two-lipped;

corolla usually bright blue-violet, I cm. long, two-lipped, the spreading, 3-lobed lower lip much longer than the short, flat, 2-lobed upper lip;

stamens 2, long-exerted;

style narrow, long, 2-parted;

ovary 2-celled, superior.

Fruits

Nutlets 4