Salvia lavandulifolia L.
Salvia officinalis subsp. lavandulifolia (Vahl) Cuatrec.
Eng.: Spanish sage. Spa.: Salvia común, marisielva. Fre.: Sauge à feuilles de lavande, sauge d’Espagne. Ara.: Suaq en nebi, mofaça, dheyet djurhât, maama, salma, selmia, hubiq es sedr. Tam.: Tazzurt, agurim imeksauen.
Subshrub, evergreen, hermaphrodite, up to 1 m in height, sometimes even taller. Stems clearly woody at the base, tortuous, branched, erect or extended almost at ground level and then lifting upwards, with greyish bark that peels off into longitudinal strips; flower stems very erect, slender and straight, tetragonal in cross section, with hairs and glands of various types. Leaves (1.5-7.5 × 0.4-3.2 cm) simple, from ovate-lanceolate to elliptic-lanceolate, acute or obtuse, with rounded base and long petiole (1-3.5 cm), subentire margin, somewhat crenulate, with ± abundant hairs, from green to white, usually slightly lighter on the underside, rugose; gathered at the base of the plant, usually alternate, but the few leaves on the flower stems are opposite. Inflorescences simple or ramose, in verticillasters of 2-8 flowers. Calyx (0.5-1.5 cm) tubular or campanulate, regular, not bilabiate, with 5 equal teeth (1-5 mm). Corolla large (1.5-4 cm), pinkish-blueish, with short and widened tube, bilabiate, with upper lip entire and the lower lip divided into 2 lobules. Stamens 2, slightly exserted from the corolla tube, stigma longer. Fruit composed of 4 subglobose nutlets (2-3.5 mm).
Flowering:
May to July.
Fruiting:
July to September.
Habitat:
Cleared forests, thickets, edges of vegetation and other areas on limestone, marl or chalky soils, usually in thickets resulting from degradation of Portuguese and Holm oak, pine, thuya or juniper forests. The different subspecies are adapted to diverse ecosystems; from semiarid bioclimate, on thermomediterranean and mesomediterranean floors.
Distribution:
Western Mediterranean region. In North Africa in the Mediterranean areas of Morocco and Algeria.
Observations:
Highly variable species, from which numerous infraspecific taxa have been described (sometimes elevated to the rank of species). Its complexity is such that, even though several authors have made substantial revisions, there is still no consensus on how to properly classify it. Currently there is a tendency to recognise 4 subspecies in North Africa (ISFAN, 2012): subsp. blancoana (Webb & Heldr. ex Walp.) Rosua & Blanca (which currently tends to be regarded as a species), from the central and southern High Atlas; and 3 subspecies endemic to the Moroccan Atlas mountains: subsp. amethystea (Emb. & Maire) Rosua & Blanca, subsp. maurorum (Ball) Rosua & Blanca and subsp. mesatlantica (Maire) Rosua & Blanca. The subsp. lavandulifolia has also been cited, between Tangier and Tétouan, but currently this cannot be confirmed.
Conservation status:
Rare but widely distributed species. Currently, it has not been assessed at a global level in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.