Salvia disermas flower spike

A Salvia disermas flower spike bears its open flower whorls well-spaced, the internodes elongated, while the closed buds up top are still densely clustered.

The large calyces and bracts, aided by the short interval of open flowers at one time in a spike, ensure that corollas do not dominate in these inflorescences. Purple and green occurring on the stalk, bracts and calyces are as much part of the inflorescence presentation as the white (sometimes pale mauve) of the corollas.

The bud lengthens to a rounded cylinder before the upper corolla lip separates from the lower one in the gaping open flower (Manning, 2009; iNaturalist).