Salvia koyamae (Shinano-akigiri) is a perennial rarely found in the wild and native to the Japanese island of Honshu, where it has a close affinity to two other salvia species: Salvia glabrescens and Salvia nipponica. It was named by Tomitaro Makino, considered the "father of Japanese botany".

Salvia koyamae
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Lamiales
Family: Lamiaceae
Genus: Salvia
Species:
S. koyamae
Binomial name
Salvia koyamae

Salvia koyamae has a lax habit with decumbent stems reaching 2 feet or more that appear to creep, creating a loose ground cover about 1 foot tall. The large yellow-green cordate leaves are covered with fine hairs, and are 6 in long and 5 in wide with a 5 in long petiole. Pale yellow flowers grow in whorls, spaced on an inflorescence that can reach up to 1 ft long. Few flowers are in bloom at one time, but the heart-shaped leaves and yellow flowers make for an attractive plant. Around 1990 it was grown at the University of California Botanical Garden and introduced into horticulture soon after that.[1]

Notes

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  1. ^ Clebsch, Betsy; Barner, Carol D. (2003). The New Book of Salvias. Timber Press. p. 165. ISBN 978-0-88192-560-9.