| Author | Michaux ex Lamarck | |
| Distribution | Limited mostly to the southern portion of the Sandhills region, and shortly west in the lower Piedmont of Anson County. A disjunct record for New Hanover County (historical).
This is primarily a Midwestern species, ranging from NE southward to TX, and eastward to southern NC and most of FL. | |
| Abundance | Rare, and thankfully there have been several recent records, as a decade or more ago, it was close to being considered of historical occurrence. This is a Significantly Rare species, with a State Rank of S2, owing to a handful of recent records, as not long ago it was S1 or SH. | |
| Habitat | This is a species of fairly typical Longleaf Pine (Pinus palustris) sandhills, not favoring seepage or moisture as some rare Sandhills species do. Thus, suitable habitat is abundant in that region, but the plants are quite selective of its micro-habitats. It does seem to favor slightly more mesic places, as opposed to deep sands. The Anson plants grow in dry-mesic soil of a forested slope. |
| Phenology | Blooms much later than the other two native species in the genus, not until August to frost; fruits from October to December. | |
| Identification | This is a very tall herb, much taller than other Salvia species and taller than most other native mints. It is wand-like, usually unbranched or sparsely branched above, reaching up to 3-4 feet tall, rarely to 5 feet. As a result, most plants tend to lean, though not to ground level. There are scattered pairs of stem leaves, each one being linear to elliptic, tapered at both ends, about 2.5 inches long and 1-inch wide, with crenate margins. At the ends of the branches are the spikes or racemes of bright blue to light blue flowers, each inflorescence often 6 inches long or longer. Each flower is about 1/2-inch long, with the lower lip quite extended and turned downward. When in bloom, this striking plant can hardly be confused, and perhaps many people have already seen this species in cultivation. In the field, however, a skinny 4 foot tall plant with numerous blue flowers on the ends of the branches is a most unexpected sight, not soon to be forgotten! | |
| Taxonomic Comments | Owing to its wide range, there are several varieties. The one in NC is the nominate one -- S. azurea var. azurea.
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| Other Common Name(s) | Blue Sage, Azure Blue Sage, Pitcher Sage | |
| State Rank | S2 | |
| Global Rank | G4G5 | |
| State Status | [SR-P] | |
| US Status | | |
| USACE-agcp | | |
| USACE-emp | | |
