Salvia verbenaca
wild clary
Europe, the Mediterranean, North Africa, and western Asia
Overview
Salvia verbenaca is an aromatic perennial of dry, open ground, growing 8-32 inches (20-80 cm) tall from a basal rosette of dark green, wrinkled leaves. The oblong basal leaves are 1.6-4.7 inches (4-12 cm) long, with wavy, lobed, and toothed edges and a rough, puckered surface. Square, upright stems carry well-spaced whorls of small two-lipped flowers from May into early autumn. The flowers are violet-blue, 0.24-0.6 inches (6-15 mm) long, and many of them are cleistogamous, staying partly closed and setting seed without fully opening, so the flowering spikes can look thin. The plant grows on dry grassland, banks, roadsides, churchyards, dunes, and waste ground, on light, free-draining, often calcareous or sandy soils, and tolerates drought and poor fertility. The crushed leaves are aromatic, and the seeds become sticky when wet, which aids their spread. It forms a deep taproot and overwinters as a leaf rosette, dying back its flowering stems each year. It can self-seed steadily where the ground stays open and sunny. It is unrelated to the culinary clary sage (Salvia sclarea), though it shares the clary name.
Native Range
Native to Europe, North Africa, and western Asia, around the Mediterranean and north to the British Isles. It has been introduced to parts of North America, Australia, and New Zealand, where it can grow as a weed.Suggested Uses
Grown in dry meadows, gravel gardens, and pollinator and wildflower plantings on poor, sunny soil. It suits naturalistic and coastal schemes that drain freely. Its self-seeding habit and thin flower spikes make it unsuited to formal borders.How to Identify
Appearance
Size & Dimensions
Height8" - 2'8"
Width/Spread8" - 1'4"
Reaches mature size in approximately 2 years
Bloom Information
Detailed Descriptions
Foliage Description
dark greenGrowing Conditions
Sun Requirements
Requires 6-10 hours of direct sunlight daily
• Full Sun: 6+ hours of direct sunlight
• Partial Shade: 3-6 hours of direct sunlight
• Full Shade: Less than 3 hours of direct sunlight