Description: Low perennial fragrant shrub, 10 - 20 cm (4 - 7.9 in.) tall, mat forming and spreading. Stems often rooting at the nodes. Leaves opposite, silvery-gray in color, leaf blades entire, spatulate and gradually narrowing, 1.4 - 2.2 cm (0.5 - 0.9 in.) long. Inflorescence in clusters, subtended by conspicuous bracts, 0.5 - 1.2 cm (to 0.5 in.) long. Flower sepals 5, fused, purplish; petals 5, fused bilateral, purple-blue, 9 mm (0.3 in.) long. Stamens projecting beyond corolla lobes by 3 - 5 mm. Fruit a nutlet, gray to reddish brown. Time of flowering: May to July.
Habitat: Bristlecone pine, mixed conifer, and pinyon-juniper
communities. This species is found typically on shallow gravelly soils derived from limestone, dolomite, and sandstone, along ridges and where bedrock outcrops occur, and in gravelly washes. Elevations:
2,130 - 3,050 m (7,000 - 10,000 ft).
Range: Southern Nevada endemic. Known to occur in the Spring Mountains and Sheep Range in Clark County, Nevada. Found in Macks, Lee, and Kyle canyons, Deer Creek area, Harris Saddle, and summit of Mount Wilson.
Comments: The woody nature, low-spreading and
mat-forming habit make this plant easy to distinguish from other Salvia species.