Pitcher Sage (Lepechinia calycina) Login         


        Description
  • Height to 7 ft.
  • EW Bloom Apr - Jul
  • This Mint Family shrub smells like a mint and has 4 ribs along the stem.
  • Bark, stem and leaves are covered in long hairs.
  • Widespread in the coastal foothills and eastern Sierras, it grows above 400 feet and below 2,900.
  • CA native.
  • AKA Woodbalm, White Pitcher Sage
  • Mint Family (Lamiaceae)



Evergreen leaves are coarse, bumpy and hairy. The flower is an open trumpet shape.



The flower's bottom lip is larger than four others that curl back. Brown papery sepals protect the base of the flower.



Crinkled leaves are opposite and have indented veins. Flowers grow along the top of the stem.

   Photo Gallery (41 ) click any picture to enlarge
    

Pitcher Sage has 1" long flowers that sort of look like pitchers, with the longer lip acting as a pouring spout. Leaves are fairly wide and end in ...

Like the leaves and bark, stems are hairy and often sticky. They're green in their first year and turn woody after that. They're not obviously squ ...

Leaves are covered in sticky hairs. The edges often have small scalloped or crenate waves. This bottom view shows veins sticking out from a crinkl ...

The top of the leaf is darker and more polished, but also hairy.

[[Opposite leaves]] grow along the stem, each pair at right angles to the ones below it.