Salvia elegans

Salvia elegans
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Lamiales
Family: Lamiaceae
Genus: Salvia
Species:
S. elegans
Binomial name
Salvia elegans
Synonyms

Salvia rutilans Carrière

Salvia elegans is a perennial shrub native to Mexico. It has a number of variants, including pineapple sage and tangerine sage.[1]

Description

Pineapple sage is a short-day plant that produces numerous erect leafy stems up to 150 centimetres (59 in). The leaves have an attractive scent that is similar to pineapple. The flowering season in Mexico is August onward; further north it may not flower until later autumn;[2] if there is no frost, it may flower until spring. It has tubular red flowers.

The variety 'Honey Melon', which has the same pineapple fragrance in the leaves, blooms early in the summer, rather than in autumn.[3]

Tangerine sage grows to about 60–90 cm (24–35 in) tall, has bronze edged leaves and a citrus scent. It is summer flowering.[4]

Phytochemistry

The essential oil of S. elegans consists primarily of caffeic acid and its derivatives, such as rosmarinic acid and salvianolic acid, and flavones.[5]

Distribution and habitat

Native to Mexico, the shrub inhabits Madrean and Mesoamerican pine–oak forests between 1,800 and 2,700 m (6,000 and 9,000 ft).[3]

Ecology

The red tubular flowers are attractive to different species of hummingbirds, butterflies, bees, beetles, and flies, with hummingbirds being the primary pollinator.[6] In a highland temperate forest in central Mexico, pineapple sage was found to be one of the three most-visited species by hummingbirds.[7] The plant's pollination syndrome, having longer upper lips compared to the lower lips, is associated with other ornithophilous species, believed to have been shaped over time by their primary pollinators.[6] Pineapple sage has a close relationship with hummingbirds due to their similar elevational distribution and constraints.[8][9] The numerous amount of flowers each plant produces makes pineapple sage a great food source for hummingbirds, as they require large amounts of nectar to sustain themselves. However, this morphological trait may promote a type of fertilization called geitonogamy, as hummingbirds visit multiple flowers of the same plant.[10][11]

Salvia elegans, photo taken by Steve Kerr

S. elegans displays incomplete dichogamy, where there is a slight temporal overlap between when the anthers release pollen and when the stigmas are receptive for pollen. In this species' case, the anthers develop pollen before their stigmas are receptive. While this strategy may allow for self pollination and possibly inbreeding depression, it mainly selects for allogamy. Inbreeding depression was not shown to occur for this species in one study in pre-germination stages. The display of incomplete dichogamy behavior may ensure for fruit and seed production when conditions are less ideal or when individuals are spread far apart from one another. The act of selfing is reduced by the flower's herkogamy, where the stigma is located above the pollen filled anthers.[12]


Cultivation

Pineapple sage was introduced into horticulture about 1870.[3] In cultivation, it typically reaches a height of 1.2 to 1.5 m (4 to 5 ft), with its roots spreading underground to form a large clump. The pale yellow-green leaves are veined and covered with fine hairs. Six to twelve scarlet flowers grow in whorls, featuring a long inflorescence that blooms gradually and lasts for an extended period. With a hard frost, the plant will die down to the ground and grow back the following spring.[3]

Uses

The leaves and flowers are edible.[13] The plant is used in Mexican traditional medicine, especially for anxiety and hypertension.[14]

References

  1. ^ Epic Gardening: Salvia Elegans
  2. ^ / Monty Don: Sage concern
  3. ^ a b c d Clebsch, Betsy; Barner, Carol D. (2003). The New Book of Salvias. Timber Press. pp. 115–117. ISBN 978-0-88192-560-9.
  4. ^ / Langthorn's Plantery: Salvia Elegans Tangerine
  5. ^ Pereira, Olívia R.; Catarino, Marcelo D.; Afonso, Andrea F.; Silva, Artur M. S.; Cardoso, Susana M. (2018). "Salvia elegans, Salvia greggii and Salvia officinalis Decoctions: Antioxidant Activities and Inhibition of Carbohydrate and Lipid Metabolic Enzymes". Molecules. 23 (12): 3169. doi:10.3390/molecules23123169. PMC 6321363. PMID 30513773.
  6. ^ a b Tavera, Arturo; de Santiago‐Hernández, Martín H.; Rosas‐Guerrero, Víctor; González, Clementina; Cuevas, Eduardo (2025). "Floral syndromes predict the most effective pollinators in five species of Salvia". American Journal of Botany. 112 (7). doi:10.1002/ajb2.70067. ISSN 0002-9122.
  7. ^ Lara, Carlos (March 2006). "Temporal dynamics of flower use by hummingbirds in a highland temperate forest in Mexico". Écoscience. 13 (1): 23–29. doi:10.2980/1195-6860(2006)13[23:TDOFUB]2.0.CO;2.
  8. ^ Lara, Carlos (2006). "Temporal dynamics of flower use by hummingbirds in a highland temperate forest in Mexico". Ecoscience. 13 (1): 23–29. doi:10.2980/1195-6860(2006)13[23:TDOFUB]2.0.CO;2. ISSN 1195-6860.
  9. ^ Vazquez-Buitrón, Mario Abraham; Salinas-Melgoza, Miguel Angel; Salinas-Melgoza, Vicente; Salinas-Melgoza, Alejandro (2021-11-02), Hummingbird abundance is related to food resources availability in a temperate forest of central Mexico, doi:10.1101/2021.10.30.466620, retrieved 2026-02-06
  10. ^ Cuevas, E.; Espino, J.; Marques, I. (2018). Scopece, G. (ed.). "Reproductive isolation between Salvia elegans and S. fulgens , two hummingbird‐pollinated sympatric sages". Plant Biology. 20 (6): 1075–1082. doi:10.1111/plb.12874. ISSN 1435-8603.
  11. ^ López-Segoviano, Gabriel; Arenas-Navarro, Maribel; Villa-Galaviz, Edith; Díaz-Infante, Sergio; Arizmendi, María del Coro (2021-10-01). "Hummingbird-plant interactions along an altitudinal gradient in northwestern Mexico". Acta Oecologica. 112 103762. doi:10.1016/j.actao.2021.103762. ISSN 1146-609X.
  12. ^ Rosas‐Guerrero, Víctor; Hernández, Diego; Cuevas, Eduardo (2017). "Influence of pollen limitation and inbreeding depression in the maintenance of incomplete dichogamy in Salvia elegans". Ecology and Evolution. 7 (12): 4129–4134. doi:10.1002/ece3.2827. ISSN 2045-7758. PMC 5478062. PMID 28649325.
  13. ^ Hanson, Beth (2001). Gourmet Herbs. Brooklyn Botanic Garden. p. 90. ISBN 978-1-889538-21-1.
  14. ^ Herrera-Ruiza, Maribel; García-Beltrána, Yolanda; Morab, Sergio; Díaz-Véliz, Gabriela; Vianac, Glauce S.B.; Tortorielloa, Jaime; Ramíreza, Guillermo (Aug 2006). "Antidepressant and anxiolytic effects of hydroalcoholic extract from Salvia elegans". Journal of Ethnopharmacology. 107 (1): 53–8. doi:10.1016/j.jep.2006.02.003. PMID 16530995.
allikas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salvia_elegans