About Salvia holwayi S.F.Blake
Salvia holwayi is a herbaceous perennial plant. It is native to Guatemala, where it grows at elevations between 3,000 and 9,000 feet, and also grows at similar elevations in the Mexican state of Chiapas. In these areas, it frequently forms undergrowth in mixed pine and oak forests and thickets. This species was named after Edward Willet Dorland Holway, a 19th-century collector of plants and fungi. Salvia holwayi reaches 3 to 5 feet in height, and can easily spread to 8 to 10 feet in a single year. Its long, floppy stems grow over and into other shrubs and trees, and each stem bears many 8-inch inflorescences. The flowers are cardinal-red, almost 1 inch long, and inflated at the center. Because it produces many inflorescences with numerous closely spaced flowers that bloom all at once, the plant is very showy. Its leaves are deltoid and yellow-green, with prominent veining. They vary in size, and average about 2 inches long and 1 inch wide. Overall, the plant has a very lush, full appearance.
