Salvia verticillata

Salvia verticillata, the lilac sage or whorled clary, is a herbaceous perennial native to a wide area ranging from central Europe to western Asia, and naturalized in northern Europe and North America. It was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1753.

Salvia verticillata has a leafy base of mid-green leaves covered with hairs, putting up leaf-covered stems that carry 3 ft inflorescences. The tiny lavender flowers grow tightly packed in whorls, with tiny lime-green and purple calyces. The specific epithet verticillata refers to the whorls that grow in verticils. A cultivar introduced in the 1990s, 'Purple Rain', is much more showy and long-blooming, growing about 2 ft tall.