Salvia funerea facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Salvia funerea |
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The Salvia funerea, also known as Death Valley sage, woolly sage, or funeral sage, is a special plant. It's a bushy shrub with many branches. This plant often grows in rocky areas with limestone soil. You can find it in the Mojave Desert in California and Nevada. The whole plant looks white because it's covered in soft, woolly hairs on its stems and leaves.
Where Does Death Valley Sage Grow?
This plant likes dry places. You can find it in dry riverbeds called washes and in canyons. It grows on the western slopes of the Funeral Mountains, Black Mountains, and Granite Mountains. It also lives in Titus Canyon in the Grapevine Mountains and in the northern Panamint Range. Most of these plants are found inside Death Valley National Park. This park is located in Inyo County, California and Nye County, Nevada.
The second part of its scientific name, "funerea," comes from where it was first discovered. It was found in the Funeral Mountains, which are along the border between California and Nevada. This plant is closely related to another sage plant called Salvia greatae.
What Does Death Valley Sage Look Like?
Salvia funerea is a type of shrub. This means it's a woody plant that branches out close to the ground. It can grow taller than one meter (about 3 feet). Its many branches are covered in soft, white, woolly fibers. The leaves of this plant have sharp, pointed tips, like small spines.
The flowers grow in groups of three. Each group is found where a leaf meets the stem. The flowers have two lips and are shaped like tubes. They are purple or blue and are about one to two centimeters long. Around the colorful flower parts (called corollas) are protective leaf-like structures called calyces. These calyces also have spine-tipped parts called sepals. The flowers grow on spikes that are about 1 to 3 inches long. They are partly hidden by tufts of the plant's woolly hairs.
See also
In Spanish: Salvia funerea para niños
