Salvia aurea buds

Some yellow colouring is present on the buds of the geelblomsalie (yellow flower salvia) as Salvia aurea is known in Afrikaans.

When the stem-tip clusters of flowers start opening, the yellow phase of the flowers is soon replaced by the common and more durable golden-brown. The conspicuous upper lip disappears early, the corolla-like sepals persisting. The calyx becomes enlarged as the fruit inside the ovary develops; short hairs and gland dots are present upon its surface.

Elegant curvature is present in the pale grey-green leaves. The leaf margins are entire, the velvety hairs on the blades short. The upper stems are similarly hairy (Manning, 2007).