Family ²

Lamiaceae

Description ³

White sage is a perennial sub-shrub less than 1 m tall. Leaves are generally 4-8 cm long, lanceolate, with a tapered base and minute teeth. The leaves are simple, with dense hairs and a distinctive fragrance. The inflorescence is many-flowered raceme with white to pale lavender blossoms. The fruits are light brown, shiny nutlets.

Community ²

Coastal Sage Scrub

Flowering ²

Apr- Jul

Ethnobotany ²

• Cahuilla Drug - Cold Remedy, Eye Medicine, Dermatological Aid, spice, Staple. Bean, Lowell John and Katherine Siva Saubel 1972 Temalpakh (From the Earth); Cahuilla Indian Knowledge and Usage of Plants. Banning, CA. Malki Museum Press (p. 136)
• Diegueno Drug (Cold Remedy, poison Oak. ) Porridge (seeds, young stalks eaten) Hedges, Ken 1986 Santa Ysabel Ethnobotany. San Diego Museum of Man Ethnic Technology Notes, No. 20 (p. 39)
• Diegueno Drug (Blood Medicine Cough Medicine) Hinton, Leanne 1975 Notes on La Huerta Diegueno Ethnobotany. Journal of California Anthropology 2:214-222 (p. 219)
• Mahuna Drug (Gynecological Aid) Romero, John Bruno 1954 The Botanical Lore of the California Indians. New York. Vantage Press, Inc. (p. 14)
• Luiseno Food (stems and seeds) Sparkman, Philip S. 1908 The Culture of the Luiseno Indians. University of California Publications in American Archaeology and Ethnology 8(4):187-234 (p. 229)

Garden Location ²

H, I, N

Associated species ²

native bees (pollen / nectar) XERCES
butterflies
hummingbirds (nectar)

Sources and Credits

1. (c) gillian360, all rights reserved, uploaded by gillian360
2. (c) gillian360, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)
3. Public Domain, http://eol.org/data_objects/1393944

More Info

• iNat taxon page
• Biodiversity Heritage Library
• BOLD Systems BIN search
• Calflora
• CalPhotos
• eFloras.org
• Flora of North America (beta)
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
• HOSTS - a Database of the World's Lepidopteran Hostplants
• IPNI (with links to POWO, WFO, and BHL)
• Jepson eFlora
• NatureServe Explorer 2.0
• SEINet Symbiota portals
• Tropicos
• USDA PLANTS database
• World Flora Online

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