Salvia chamelaeagnea two-tone flowers

These blue and white flowers of Salvia chamelaeagnea were seen in December near Botrivier. The corollas of the flowers have dark blue upper lips, while the lower lips are whiter, flatter, broad and wavy. This colour combination is a commonly seen form of the flower.

The lower corolla lip is usually the landing site for the pollinating insect. While the bee or other insect ingests nectar, the protruding stigmas under the hooded upper lip above the visitor have every chance of touching the insect’s back. This contact is sufficient for the offloading of pollen which can touch the stigma of the next flower visited, should the pollinator still be hungry enough for another visit. Nature takes chances, but improves them by maximises the number of trials.

S. chamelaeagnea grows flowers with flared calyces that enlarge as the fruits develop and the corollas disappear. There are more reddish purple calyces persisting on the plant in picture than the shorter lived corollas.

The plant has strongly scented glands on its sticky leaves (Manning, 2009; www.plantzafrica.com).