Southern river sage, Creeping sage
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Salvia misella
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Lamiaceae
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Landscape Uses:
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Primarily recommended for natural landscapes. Also a creeping groundcover in moist to relatively dry areas. |
Ecological Restoration Notes: |
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Primarily associated with disturbed uplands and can become weedy, but it is relatively easy to control. |
Availability: |
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Grown by one or two native plant nurseries in South Florida. Available in Boynton Beach at Sustaincape Florida (561-245-5305) and in Lake Worth at Indian Trails Native Nursery (561-641-9488) and at Amelia's SmartyPlants (561-540-6296).. |
Description: |
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Small herbaceous wildflower, usually creeping along the ground; dormant in the winter in the northernmost parts of its range. |
Height: |
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About 3-9 inches in height. Spreading and forming large, open or dense patches several feet across. |
Growth Rate: |
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Fast. |
Range: |
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Scattered from Miami-Dade County and the Monroe County mainland north to Brevard, Marion, Alachua and Citrus counties, perhaps spreading north; West Indies, Mexico, Central America and South America. |
Habitats: |
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Disturbed uplands and (rarely) hammock edges, including shell mounds. |
Soils: |
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Moist to moderately dry, well-drained sandy, limestone, or organic soils, with or without humusy top layer. |
Nutritional Requirements: |
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Moderate; can grow in nutrient poor soils, but needs some organic content to thrive. |
Salt Water Tolerance: |
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Low; does not tolerate long-term flooding by salt or brackish water. |
Salt Wind Tolerance: |
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Moderate; grows near salt water, but is protected from direct salt spray by other vegetation. |
Drought Tolerance: |
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High; does not require any supplemental water once established. |
Light Requirements: |
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Light shade to full sun. |
Flower Color: |
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Blue. |
Flower Characteristics: |
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Semi-showy. |
Flowering Season: |
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Spring-fall. |
Fruit: |
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Inconspicuous nutlet. |
Wildlife and Ecology: |
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Nectar plant for butterflies. This has been reported as a possible larval host plant for the Fulvous hairstreak in Cuba (Fernández-Hernández 2007), along with other native sage (Salvia) species. |
Horticultural Notes: |
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Can be grown from cuttings, division or seed. |
Comments: |
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