Salvia henryi has a bright red corolla and lobed leaves. The leaves look like they belong on a mallow. Salvia henryi grows on rocky areas at the base of cliffs or in canyons. The calyx and corolla are both covered with erect cilia. Like all Salvias, the corolla of Salvia henryi is bilabiate with a bifid lower lip.
Duration: Perennial
Nativity: Native
Lifeform: Forb/Herb
General: Non-aromatic perennial herbs, 20-50 cm tall, from a woody caudex and taproot; stems 4-sided, several to many, generally unbranched, erect to ascending; herbage covered with soft pubescent hairs.
Leaves: Opposite and usually pinnately compound with 3-5 leaflets; the terminal leaflet is the largest, up to 6 cm long and often nearly as wide, irregularly toothed or lobed, sometimes pinnately lobed and sometimes palmately lobed; lateral leaflets, if present, much smaller, 1-2 cm long, also toothed or lobed.
Flowers: Red, in terminal racemes with 2 flowers per node, each flower on a pedicel about 5 mm long; calyx a 5-toothed tube, about 10 mm long, hirsute or villous, the teeth and sinuses often ciliate; corolla red, 3-4 cm long, tubular and 2-lipped, the tube abruptly expanded above the calyx and the the upper lip longer than the lower lip.
Fruits: Nutlets 4, smooth.
Ecology: Found on rocky slopes and canyons from 4,500-7,000 ft (1372-2134 m); flowers April-September.
Distribution: AZ, NM, s TX; south to n MEX.
Notes: This species does not have a minty or sagey smell but look for the square stems and opposite leaves which distinguish it as a member of the mint family. The leaves have petioles, distinguishing it from Penstemon spp. Most leaves have 3-5 irregularly lobed leaflets, with the lateral leaflets much smaller than the terminal leaflet. It is common for leaves near the tops of the stems to have only one leaflet. Material with 3 leaflets has traditionally been classified as S. davidsonii, now considered a synonym. Look also for the red, tubular, 2-lipped flowers, with the upper lip noticably longer than the lower lip. The flowers are 3-4 cm long and the longer lip is only about 0.5 cm long or less. There are a few notable purple-flowered collections from the Grand Canyon.
Ethnobotany: Unknown, but other species in the genus have uses.
Etymology: Salvia comes from Latin salvere, to heal or save, alluding to the healing properties of some species; henryi is named for Augustine Henry (1857-1930) an Irish physician and plant collector.
Synonyms: Salvia davidsonii
Editor: SBuckley 2010, FSCoburn 2015, AHazelton 2017
