White Pitcher Sage, Lepechinia calycina

About White Pitcher Sage (Lepechinia calycina) 21 Nurseries Carry This Plant

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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

Shrub

Size

5 - 8 ft tall
3 - 6 ft wide

Dormancy

Evergreen

Fragrance

Fragrant - Pleasant

Flower Color

White

Flowering Season

Spring

Wildlife Supported

Insects and hummingbirds are attracted to the flowers
Hummingbird gardens

Butterflies & moths hosted ( 1 confirmed

, 1 likely * ) SHOW ALL

Anoncia Sphacelina Anoncia sphacelinaAnoncia sphacelina

Anstenoptilia marmarodactylaAnstenoptilia marmarodactyla

Landscaping Information

Sun

Part Shade, Full Sun

Moisture

Very Low

Summer Irrigation

Max 3x / month once established

Nurseries

Carried by 21

Ease of Care

Moderately Easy

Cold Tolerance

Tolerates cold to -5° F

Soil Drainage

Fast

Soil Description

Prefers well drained soil. Soil PH: 6.0 - 7.0

Common uses

Hedges, Deer Resistant, Hummingbird Gardens, Bird Gardens

Companion Plants

Use with Chamise (Adenostoma fasciculatum), Manzanita (Arctostaphylos sp.), Ceanothus sp., Giant Chinquapin (Chrysolepis chrysophylla), Summer Holly (Comarostaphylis diversifolia), Dogwood (Cornus sp.), Tree Poppy (Dendromecon rigida), Buckwheat (Eriogonum sp.), Flannelbush (Fremontodendron californicum), Coast Silktassel (Garrya elliptica), Toyon (Heteromeles arbutifolia), Oceanspray (Holodiscus discolor), Bush Mallow (Malacothamnus sp.), Sticky Monkeyflower (Mimulus aurantiacus), Ninebark (Physocarpus capitatus), Cherry (Prunus sp.), Oak (Quercus sp.), Currant (Ribes sp.), and Woolly Bluecurls (Trichostema lanatum)

Propagation?

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

Sunset Zones?

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

Natural Setting

Site Type

Rocky slopes, canyons and ridges

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

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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

White Pitcher Sage

Lepechinia calycina

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White Pitcher SageLepechinia calycina

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White Pitcher Sage

Lepechinia calycina