Salvia dentata grabbing the imagination

The deep throat of the Salvia dentata flower in picture looks like a gaping olive-coloured maw, as if the corolla has dared opening much wider than floral decorum dictates. This is the full dentist’s view of a patient’s face before the drill enters the mouth.

The corolla of this S. dentata flower is overall quite elegant though, like a three-tiered wedding cake, should blue in wedding cakes suddenly take on. The upper lip is pale and blurred in this case, quite narrow, long and curving forward. The curve discloses ample hairiness on the outer surface.

The smaller, upper lobes of the lower lip, the middle tier of this would-be cake, are held in a slightly forward position, as if wide sleeve shapes transform the image into a fashionable dress covering the arms held ready for action. The broad lower lobes of the lower lip complete the dress image, spreading, smooth and pale blue. No budgetary constraints when buying material for this dress! The flower is from 16 mm to 25 mm long.

The calyx is roughly hairy. Salvia calyces are two-lipped as their corollas, the upper lip of the calyx usually three-toothed, the lower one having only two but larger teeth. The calyx will enlarge after bloomtime when the fruit develops.

Flowering of this species happens over a long season from winter to midsummer. The photo was taken in August in the westerly hills of central Namaqualand (Manning, 2009; Le Roux, et al, 2005; iNaturalist).