Salvia tysonii
| Salvia tysonii | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Lamiales |
| Family: | Lamiaceae |
| Genus: | Salvia |
| Species: | S. tysonii
|
| Binomial name | |
| Salvia tysonii | |
Salvia tysonii is a rarely encountered species of sage commonly called Tambookie sage. It is found in South Africa′s Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal provinces, growing in grassland, typically on rocky slopes or alongside streams at an elevation of 750–1,450 m (2,460–4,760 ft).[2][3][4]
Description
Salvia tysonii is a perennial herb with a creeping woody rootstock. Stems are erect, usually simple and branching above, stout and four-angled, reaching up to 1.4 m (4 ft 7 in) in height, and are densely covered with short, curled non-glandular hairs and oil globules.[2]
Leaves are runcinate and irregularly serrate, up to about 9.5 cm × 5 cm (3.7 in × 2.0 in), with a large terminal lobe; the upper surface bears scattered short hairs, while the lower surface is densely hairy with oil glands. Lower leaves are petiolate, the uppermost becoming nearly sessile.[2]
The inflorescence is usually much branched, with up to 12–24 verticils, each bearing about eight flowers, spaced below and closer together above. Floral leaves are broadly ovate and long-acuminate, with small bracts present.[2]
Flowers are borne on short pedicels up to 3 mm (0.12 in) long. The calyx is tubular, about 8.5 mm (0.33 in) long, frequently tinged purple and sparsely hairy, with a truncate upper lip and two triangular teeth on the lower lip.[2]
The corolla is reddish or blue, about 14 mm (0.55 in) long; the lower lip is longer than the upper, and the tube is straight and without an annulus. Nutlets are light brown with a finely tuberculate surface.[2]
S. tysonii flowers from December to March.[2]
Etymology
The species is named for William Tyson (1851–1920), a teacher and highly active plant collector who came to South Africa from Jamaica in 1874. He collected a specimen of the plant on the banks of the Umzimkulu River near Clydesdale while working in Kokstad in the 1880s. Other taxa named in his honour are Dierama tysonii, Euryops tysonii, Jamesbrittenia tysonii, Scabiosa tysonii, Stachys tysonii, and the genus Tysonia, since renamed Afrotysonia.[5][6]
References
- ^ "Salvia tysonii". Red List of South African Plants. SANBI. Retrieved 2026-01-01.
- ^ a b c d e f g Hedge, IC (1974). "A revision of Salvia in Africa including Madagascar and the Canary Islands". Notes from the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. 33 (1). Her Majesty′s Stationery Office: 57. doi:10.24823/nrbge.1974.2972.
- ^ Codd LE, Dyer RA, Rycroft HB, de Winter B (1985). Flora of Southern Africa: The Republic of South Africa, Basutoland, Swaziland and South West Africa. Vol. 28. Govt. Printer. pp. 89–90. ISBN 0621082686.
- ^ Klopper, R.R.; Winter, P.J.D., eds. (20 March 2025). "The South African National Plant Checklist: 2025 official yearly release". South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI). Retrieved 7 January 2026.
- ^ "Tyson, Mr William (plant collection)". S2A3 Biographical Database of Southern African Science. Southern Africa Association for the Advancement of Science. Retrieved 2026-01-02.
- ^ Mill, RR (1986). "A revision of the genus Afrotysonia Rauschert (Boraginaceae)". Notes from the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. 43 (3): 467–475. doi:10.24823/nrbge.1986.3449.