# Mealy Blue Sage

*Salvia farinacea*

The 'mealy' in its name comes from the white, powdery hairs on the calyx and stems, which help the plant conserve water.

- **Taxonomy:** Plantae › Tracheophyta › Magnoliopsida › Lamiales › Lamiaceae › Salvia
- **IUCN Red List status:** Least Concern
- **Population trend:** stable
- **Biome:** grassland
- **Habitat:** Prairies, meadows, open grasslands, and limestone hillsides.
- **Diet:** Autotrophic (photosynthesis, absorbing water and minerals from soil).
- **Range:** Texas, New Mexico, Mexico
- **Size:** 60 to 90 cm tall, 30 to 45 cm wide
- **Lifespan:** 3-5 years
- **Active:** diurnal
- **Threats:** Habitat loss due to agriculture and urban development, invasive weed competition.
- **Safe to approach?:** Harmless. You can safely approach and touch this plant. Its leaves and stems are non-toxic, though brushing against them releases a pleasant, sage-like aroma. Avoid ingesting large quantities, and do not harvest from protected wild spaces.

## About

Salvia farinacea , the mealycup sage , or mealy sage , is a herbaceous perennial native to Mexico and parts of the United States including Texas and Oklahoma. Violet-blue spikes rest on a compact plant of typically narrow salvia-like leaves; however, the shiny leaves are what set this species apart from most other Salvia , which bear velvety-dull leaves.

## Sources

- Plate: https://gaia-dex.com/species/492ae9b8-a300-4fd4-9081-da928dbd0678
- iNaturalist: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/148006
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salvia farinacea
- Conservation status: IUCN Red List category, as recorded by Gaia-Dex
- Photo: https://inaturalist-open-data.s3.amazonaws.com/photos/3172030/medium.jpg (Forest and Kim Starr, CC-BY, via iNaturalist)

Habitat, diet, size and similar notes are AI-written summaries; check them against the linked sources before relying on them.