Mealycup sage
Salvia farinacea Benth.
- light
- Full sun
- water
- Little
- tall
- 69 cm
- wide
- 46 cm
Lamiaceae
Also called Mealy Blue Sage, Mealy-cup sage, Mealy cup sage
Formerly Salvia amabilis, Salvia earlei, Salvia trichostyle
When it flowers
Flowers April to November in the tropics.
Read from iNaturalist photographs of it in flower. A month counts at 50% of the best month's flowering share (smoothed over three months) and 10% of its flowering count, from at least 100 flowering observations in the band.
If a child, a pet or anyone may have eaten a plant, contact a doctor or vet straight away, or call the National Poisons Information Centre (AIIMS, New Delhi) on 1800 116 117, free and open 24 hours.
Something wrong with it?About it
- Grows as
- Perennial or subshrubKew's checklist, not yet checked
- Climate
- Desert or dry shrublandKew's checklist, not yet checked
- Wild in
- SC. U.S.A. to NE. MexicoKew's checklist, not yet checked
- Light
- Full sun (6 h or more)Read from NC State Extension and Wikipedia, checked by a majority of its sourcesBacked by both sources. Sources differ: NC State Extension full; Wikipedia full, part
- Height
- 46 cm to 91 cmRead from NC State Extension, one source
- Spread
- 30 cm to 61 cmRead from NC State Extension, one source
- Water
- Little: takes droughtRead from NC State Extension, one source
- Flowers
- White, purple, blueRead from NC State Extension and Wikipedia, checked by a majority of its sourcesBacked by both sources. Sources differ: NC State Extension blue, purple, white; Wikipedia blue, purple, violet, white
- Coldest it survives
- -12.2 °C (USDA zone 8a)Read from NC State Extension and Wikipedia, checked by a majority of its sourcesBacked by both sources
Not known yet: heat, hottest it survives.
Grow it with
Suggested by a rule, not by a gardener: same climate (kew), flowering when this plant does not (inaturalist), and a different shape.
Aloe veraFlowers December to March, when this does not
Cochineal Nopal CactusFlowers December to March, when this does not
Crown of thornsFlowers December to March, when this does not
Desert roseFlowers December to March, when this does not
Erect Prickly PearFlowers December to March, when this does not
Giant milkweedFlowers December to March, when this does not
In other languages (12)
- Spanish
- Mirto morado
- Japanese
- ブルーサルビア, サルビア・ファリナセア, サリーファン
- Czech
- šalvěj pomoučená
- Chinese (China)
- 蓝花鼠尾草
- Swedish
- daggsalvia
- Russian
- Шалфей мучнистый
- Lithuanian
- Miltuotasis šalavijas
- Chinese
- 粉萼鼠尾草, 一串蓝, 蓝花鼠尾草
- French
- Sauge farineuse
- Portuguese
- Sálvia-azul, Sálvia-farinhenta
- Finnish
- härmesalvia
- Slovak
- šalvia pomúčená
Where this comes from
- iNaturalist, read 2026-10-24, CC0-1.0 (observation counts)
- Wikidata, read 2026-10-24, CC0-1.0
- Kew's checklist, read 2026-10-24, CC-BY-4.0
- NC State Extension, read 2026-10-25, fact, cited
- Wikipedia, read 2026-10-25, fact, cited
- Wikimedia Commons, read 2026-10-24, CC BY-SA 4.0
- iNaturalist, read 2026-10-25, CC BY
- iNaturalist, read 2026-10-25, CC0
- iNaturalist, read 2026-10-25, CC BY-SA
- 3D model: Salvia farinacea (built for Vanagrha) by Vanagrha, own
A fact “checked by a majority of its sources” was settled by a vote of the pages it was read from, not by a person reading it; one marked “one source” rests on that page alone. Anything else not marked checked has not been checked yet. Where nothing is known, the page says so rather than guess.