Salvia lyrata
Salvia lyrata is usually green with beautifully marked leaves forming a lyre, but it can also appear in a bronze form.
This is a small prostrate clumping perennial 20-30 cm H when in flower.
Flowers: can be either mauve/purple/blue or white on the bronze form.
Flowers are in a compact whorl around a square green stem in a verticillata formation. The bottom lip is extended, which acts as a landing place for insects as they make their way up into the flower. Flowering in spring and summer, they appear , well above the leaves to attract any passing insects .
Flowers don’t last very long. It’s common to see a stem of buds one day and the next day the calyces are developing seeds without the flowers being seen. When they do produce a head of flowers, they are elegant and beautiful.
Calyces: are green with bronze marking towards the tips. Lobes are well ribbed, and pointed. These stay after the flowers are spent, to hold approx 4 small dark rounded seeds. Bees, small moths and other insects are always hovering around these beautiful small flowers.
Leaves: can be green or bronze. Normally the rosette of leaves are broad lineal or oval, being approx 10cm. Often lobed before the leaf blade. This helps form the look of a lyre. In the green form, they have beautiful bronze lyre markings – hence the name. These marked leaves can also continue up the flower stem, accentuating the markings on the leaves, making the whole plant look very attractive.
With the bronze form, the lyre markings are not really seen as the main feature is the beautiful bronze coloured leaves.
The seeds don’t always come true with this coloured form, often reverting back to the green leaves.
Salvia lyrata : is called Cancer Weed as it can self seed everywhere.
But a good patch of these small rosettes beneath a taller plant looks really good. Most gardeners don’t mind a few plants popping up in the garden. A lovely small plant for a semi shaded area along a pathway or under shrubs. plant. As this plant can self seed, it can pop up in pots, making a good potted plant.
More of a woodland plant, enjoying a sunny protected position, plant along the edge of paths, pockets of gravel and under other shrubs that have bare amounts of mulch beneath.
Some call them annuals, as they are not long lived but there will be always always a few plants in and around that position
Keep well watered as they disappear from hot dry areas. A lovely small plant for the garden.
Propagation: is usually by seed sown in the spring/summer season or pot up self seeded seedlings.