About Salvia polystachia Cav.
Salvia polystachia Cav. is an annual plant that can reach a height of 3 to 9 feet (1 to 3 meters) within one growing season. Its stems become very brittle as it matures, so it prefers growing in the shelter provided by other nearby plants. The plant blooms in late summer or early fall. Its individual flowers measure 0.5 inches (13 mm) across, with violet-blue coloring along the petal edges that fades to white toward the flower center. The plant produces many short, slender spikes, each holding dense whorls (verticils) of tightly packed flowers; this characteristic gives the species its specific epithet polystachia. Its leaves are yellow-green, measuring 1 inch (2.5 cm) in both length and width, and they grow in small clusters along the stems.
