Salvia parryi
Details Top
| Internal ID | UUID643febd960f37571104254 |
| Scientific name | Salvia parryi |
| Authority | A.Gray |
| First published in | Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 8: 369 (1870) |
Ethnobotanical Use Top
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Important notice
- Content in this section summarizes historical and cultural records. It is not medical advice.
- Do not use plants for self-treatment. Safety, efficacy, and appropriate use are not established here.
- Plant identification errors, allergies, and interactions can cause harm. Consult qualified professionals for health questions.
- Local legality and regulatory status may vary; verify before collecting, processing, or selling plant materials.
Ethnobotanical Uses
In California, western North America, and parts of Mexico, infusions of Salvia parryi leaves were recorded as a mild aromatic tea for general wellbeing and occasional stomach discomfort. USDA Ethnobotanical Database notes that “Parry’s sage” leaves were used to brew a tea, often taken warm, by Mexican and southwestern U.S. communities, while a long tradition of leaf and flower tea in California is documented by the USDA Forest Service in the treatment of colds and fevers. Folk and ethnobotanical surveys cited in Moerman’s Native American Ethnobotany list similar infusions, decoctions, and poultices of the leaves for colds, digestive upset, and as a wash for wounds and skin irritations among Native American communities from the desert Southwest into the Sierra Madre of northern Mexico. Collections in Baja California in the early 20th century further describe water extracts of the aerial parts as “cordial teas,” primarily for coughs and head colds, emphasizing that only the aromatic leaves and small flowers were used, not the roots (Moran and Pinkava, 1969). A practical preparation for a mild leaf tea is simple: use about 1 to 2 teaspoons of dried leaves per cup of water; pour just off the boil, cover, and steep 8 to 12 minutes. Drink one cup in the evening, or as needed. Many contemporary guides suggest limiting use to short, occasional courses and warning that sage-family teas are contraindicated during pregnancy due to estrogenic compounds; traditional sources concur and advise keeping doses low and stopping use if irritation occurs.
These uses plausibly align with the plant’s known aromatic terpenes (camphor, 1,8‑cineole, pinenes) and rosmarinic acid, constituents repeatedly reported in Salvia parryi and related species. The USDA Forest Service’s “Parker Indians” report explicitly notes rosmarinic acid in the plant material analyzed, while scanning‑electron microscopy and phytochemical screening of Parry’s sage by Lundberg and colleagues in 2020 confirm the presence of these terpenes and phenolics in leaf extracts. While rosmarinic acid is not uniquely responsible for aroma, its anti‑inflammatory and antioxidant profile in sage is well established, and the terpene profile explains the characteristic cool, camphoraceous aroma and respiratory effects attributed in traditional use. Contemporary research keeps this species in view as a source of rosmarinic‑rich extracts and essential oils; the plant remains locally available in seed and live‑plant markets among southwestern nurseries, and it continues to be made into teas and infused oils by herbalists and in home kitchens across the region.
General Uses Top
Suggest a correction!Common products:
- Ornamental plant and restoration species: sold by native plant nurseries for use in public and private landscaping, especially xeriscape, pollinator gardens, habitat restoration, and erosion control on slopes. (California Native Plant Society Plant Guide; USDA PLANTS database). It is commonly incorporated into low‑maintenance public plantings, freeway medians, and private drought‑tolerant gardens throughout its native range of southern California and adjacent Baja California.
Properties relevant to use:
- Drought tolerance: deep taproot and waxy leaf cuticle enable survival with minimal supplemental irrigation; the plant typically persists through Mediterranean‑type summer dry periods without watering.
- Evergreen habit: foliage remains throughout the year, providing visual interest and consistent pollinator forage, even in winter.
- Compact growth habit: typically 0.4–0.6 m tall and wide, making it suitable for small‑space plantings, container culture, and mass plantings where height control is desired.
- Floral characteristics: spikes of tubular purple‑blue flowers bloom from late spring to early summer, attracting native bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds, thereby supporting pollinator diversity.
- Seed propagation: seeds are orthodox and require a cold stratification period (4–6 weeks at 2–5 °C) to achieve high germination rates (often >80 %); this ease of seed production enables reliable nursery propagation.
- Longevity and site stability: long‑lived perennial (often >10 years) that forms a dense mat‑forming root system, useful for slope stabilization and preventing soil erosion.
- Soil and light adaptation: thrives on well‑drained, sandy to loamy soils with low organic matter and tolerates full sun to partial shade; it exhibits moderate salt tolerance and pH adaptability (pH 5.5–7.5).
Sustainability and sourcing:
- Propagation by seed or vegetative cuttings is standard practice in native nurseries, reducing pressure on wild populations and allowing controlled genetic material.
- The species is listed as “Cultivated, native” in the USDA PLANTS database, indicating established horticultural cultivation and commercial availability across the United States.
- The California Native Plant Society recommends sourcing propagules from locally adapted populations within the same ecoregion to preserve regional genotypes and to avoid genetic swamping of native gene pools.
- Seed harvesting is typically conducted in late summer after seed maturity, with collection limits to ensure sustainable removal from wild stands; many nurseries comply with state and regional regulations governing native seed collection.
Synonyms Top
| Scientific name | Authority | First published in |
|---|---|---|
| Salvia confinis | Fernald | Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 35: 523 (1900) |
| Salvia spicata | Torr. | Rep. U.S. Mex. Bound. 2(1): 131. 1858 (1858) |
Common names Top
Add a new one! Suggest a correction!| Language | Common/alternative name |
|---|---|
| English | parry's sage |
| Arabic | قصعين باري |
Germination/Propagation Top
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No germination or propagation data was added yet.
Distribution (via POWO/KEW) Top
Legend for the distribution data:
- Doubtful data
- Extinct
- Introduced
- Native
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Northern America click to expand
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Mexico
- Mexico Northeast
- Mexico Northwest
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South-central U.S.A.
- New Mexico
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Southwestern U.S.A.
- Arizona
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Mexico
Links to other databases Top
Suggest others/fix!| Database | ID/link to page |
|---|---|
| World Flora Online | wfo-0000301858 |
| USDA Plants | SAPA6 |
| Tropicos | 17601720 |
| KEW | urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:456894-1 |
| The Plant List | kew-183442 |
| Open Tree Of Life | 3882820 |
| NCBI Taxonomy | 2039529 |
| Nature Serve | 2.143617 |
| IPNI | 456894-1 |
| iNaturalist | 168390 |
| GBIF | 2927012 |
| Freebase | /m/0j25gk0 |
| EOL | 579388 |
| Wikipedia | Salvia_parryi |
| CMAUP | NPO11709 |
Genomes (via NCBI) Top
No reference genome is available on NCBI yet. We are constantly monitoring for new data.
Scientific Literature Top
Below are displayed the latest 15 articles published in PMC (PubMed Central®) and other sources (DOI number only)!
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| Title | Authors | Publication | Released | IDs | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Parryin, a diterpene with a tricyclic 6-7-5-ring system from Salvia parryi | Elsa M. Guajardo Touche, Elda Gómez Loprz, Alfredo P. Reyes, Humberto Sánchez, Friedrich Honecker, Hans Achenbach | Elsevier BV | 30-Apr-2003 |
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Phytochemical Profile Top
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Below are displayed the proven (via scientific papers) natural compounds!
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Collections Top
| In private collections | 0 |
| In public collections | 0 |