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White Pitcher Sage
Lepechinia calycina
  
About White Pitcher Sage (Lepechinia calycina) 22 Nurseries Carry This Plant A species of flowering plant in the Lamiaceae (Mint) family, Pitcher Sage or Woodbalm is endemic to California, where it is a common plant in several different habitat types, including the chaparral plant community. It is found along the central coast from Mendocino County to Ventura County, as well as portions of the Coast Ranges and Sierra foothills. This is an aromatic shrub with parts of its bark covered in long hairs, some of which have resin glands in them. The leaves are lance-shaped to roughly oval and are sometimes toothed along the edges. The shrub flowers in loose raceme clusters. Each flower is encased in a cuplike calyx of sepals which are green when new and age to reddish purple. The somewhat cylindrical corolla of the flower is white to light lavender and is rolled back at the tip into four small lips and one longer lip. The tiny fruit is rounded, dark in color, and slightly hairy. The Miwok, a Native American group of California, used an extract of the leaves of this plant to treat fever and headache.
Plant Description
Plant Type
Plant Type
Shrub

Size
Size
5 - 8 ft tall
3 - 6 ft wide

Dormancy
Dormancy
Evergreen

Fragrance
Fragrance
Fragrant - Pleasant

Flower Color
Flower Color
White

Flowering Season
Flowering Season
Spring

Wildlife Supported
 
Insects and hummingbirds are attracted to the flowers

 
Butterflies & moths hosted ( 1 confirmed , 1 likely * ) SHOW ALL
*
Anstenoptilia marmarodactyla Image
Anstenoptilia marmarodactylaAnstenoptilia marmarodactyla

Landscaping Information
Sun
Sun
Part Shade, Full Sun

Moisture
Moisture
Very Low

Summer Irrigation
Summer Irrigation
Max 3x / month once established

Nurseries
Nurseries

Ease of Care
Ease of Care
Moderately Easy

Cold Tolerance
Cold Tolerance
Tolerates cold to -5° F

Soil Drainage
Soil Drainage
Fast

Soil Description
Soil Description
Prefers well drained soil. Soil PH: 6.0 - 7.0

Common uses
Common uses
Hedges, Deer Resistant, Hummingbird Gardens, Bird Gardens

Propagation
Propagation?
For propagating by seed: Hot water treatment, then 3 mos. stratification may improve germination.

Sunset Zones
Sunset Zones?
7*, 8, 9*, 14*, 15*, 16*, 17, 18, 19*, 20*, 21*, 22*, 23*, 24*

Natural Setting
Site Type
Site Type
Rocky slopes, canyons and ridges

Climate
Climate
Annual Precipitation: 11.8" - 74.7", Summer Precipitation: 0.15" - 1.86", Coldest Month: 32.2" - 54.0", Hottest Month: 56.1" - 77.6", Humidity: 0.65" - 25.87", Elevation: 10" - 7301"

Alternative Names
Common Names: Woodbalm


Sources include: Wikipedia. All text shown in the "About" section of these pages is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Plant observation data provided by the participants of the California Consortia of Herbaria, Sunset information provided by Jepson Flora Project. Propogation from seed information provided by the Santa Barbara Botanical Garden from "Seed Propagation of Native California Plants" by Dara E. Emery. Sources of plant photos include CalPhotos, Wikimedia Commons, and independent plant photographers who have agreed to share their images with Calscape. Other general sources of information include Calflora, CNPS Manual of Vegetation Online, Jepson Flora Project, Las Pilitas, Theodore Payne, Tree of Life, The Xerces Society, and information provided by CNPS volunteer editors, with special thanks to Don Rideout. Climate data used in creation of plant range maps is from PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University, using 30 year (1981-2010) annual "normals" at an 800 meter spatial resolution.

Links:   Jepson eFlora Taxon Page  CalPhotos  Wikipedia  Calflora


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