Thistle Sage
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Thistle Sage
salvia carduacea
Thistle Sage (Salvia carduacea) is a striking annual wildflower native to the arid regions of California and Baja California. Despite its prickles and formidable thistle-like appearance, it belongs to the fragrant mint family (Lamiaceae). This resilient plant produces highly distinctive, bright lavender-to-purple flowers that feature beautifully fringed lower lips and contrasting bright red-orange anthers. Growing in sandy patches, washes, and dry fields, it is a hallmark of spring in the Mojave Desert and chaparral ecosystems. It has evolved to thrive in drought-prone environments, bursting into bloom during early spring and setting seeds before the extreme summer heat arrives. Indigenous peoples historically used its nutritious seeds for food and medicinal teas, highlighting its ecological and cultural value.
Lebensraum: Found in dry, sandy or gravelly soils, desert washes, and open chaparral flats of California and Baja California.
Aussehen
Thistle Sage is easily recognized by its cobwebby, woolly stems and spiny, thistle-like basal leaves that are deeply lobed with white-margined teeth. The plant grows to a height of 15 to 100 cm, producing dense, ball-like whorls of pale purple or lavender flowers. Each flower exhibits a deeply fringed, fan-shaped lower lip and a pair of prominent, bright orange-red anthers that contrast sharply with the soft purple petals. The entire plant has a gray-green, woolly coating that helps conserve moisture, giving it a soft, dusty appearance from a distance.
ReichPlantaeStammTracheophytaKlasseMagnoliopsidaOrdnungLamialesFamilieLamiaceaeGattungSalvia
Kategorie
PflanzenSeltenheit
Common
Gefahr
1/5 · Sehr gering
Snaps
Mach den ersten Snap!
Interessante Fakten
Despite looking like a hostile thistle, it is actually a true sage and member of the fragrant mint family.
Its stunning, bright orange-red anthers contrast sharply with its purple petals to create a highly visible target for native bees.
The seeds of Thistle Sage were traditionally harvested by the Kawaiisu and other California Indigenous groups, who parched and ground them into a nutritious meal.
Besondere Fähigkeiten
Fähigkeit
Drought Resistant Wool
The plant is covered in dense, white, cobwebby hairs that reduce water loss by deflecting harsh desert sunlight and trapping a micro-layer of humid air.
Fähigkeit
Spiny Protection
Its thistle-like, spiny leaves deter herbivores from grazing on its foliage in resource-scarce desert environments.
Fähigkeit
Pollinator Trapdoor
The specialized lower lip of the lavender flower acts as a landing platform, flexing under the weight of bees to precisely dust them with pollen from its red anthers.
Maße und Details
- Länge
- 15-100 cm
- Gewicht
- 0.05-0.3 kg
- Lebenserwartung
- 1 Jahre
- Brutzeit
- 14-28 Tage
Ernährung und Fütterung
As a photosynthetic plant, Thistle Sage manufactures its own energy from sunlight, carbon dioxide, and water while absorbing essential mineral nutrients from the soil.
Hauptnahrung
- Sunlight
- Water
- Carbon dioxide
- Soil nitrogen
- Phosphorus
Ökologische Zusammenhänge
mutualism
Yellow-faced Bumblebee
Bombus vosnesenskii
Serves as a primary pollinator, attracted to the bright lavender flowers and rich nectar.
eaten by
Desert Cottontail
Sylvilagus audubonii
May occasionally graze on the younger, less prickly leaves of the plant during early spring.
mutualism
Honey Bee
Apis mellifera
Frequently visits the fringed flowers to collect nectar, helping with pollination.
Merkmale
Für dieses Objekt sind noch keine Merkmal-Badges vergeben.
Auch bekannt als
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Sammlungen
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Sicherheit
Gefahr
1/5 · Sehr gering
Noch keine besonderen Sicherheitshinweise.
Häufig gestellte Fragen
Wie identifiziert man Thistle Sage?
Der einfachste Weg, Thistle Sage zu bestimmen, ist die Verwendung der Naturführer-App Snappit.
Was ist der/die/das länge von Thistle Sage?
15-100 cm
Was ist der/die/das gewicht von Thistle Sage?
0.05-0.3 kg
Was ist der/die/das lebenserwartung von Thistle Sage?
1 Jahre
Was frisst Thistle Sage?
As a photosynthetic plant, Thistle Sage manufactures its own energy from sunlight, carbon dioxide, and water while absorbing essential mineral nutrients from the soil.
Wo findet man Thistle Sage normalerweise?
Found in dry, sandy or gravelly soils, desert washes, and open chaparral flats of California and Baja California.
Was ist der/die/das brutzeit von Thistle Sage?
14-28 Tage
Snap-Karte
Zoome hinein, um Cluster aufzulösen und zu sehen, wo dieses Objekt fotografiert wurde.
Karte wird geladen…
Neueste Snaps
Neueste Snaps erscheinen hier, wenn neue Beobachtungen hinzukommen.
