Salvia prionitis Hance

Used medicinally.

Herbs annual. Stems erect, 20-43 cm, densely white hirsute, unbranched or few branched. Leaves mostly basal, simple or ternate compound; petiole 1.5-6 cm; leaf blades of simple leaves oblong to ovate-lanceolate, 2.5-7.5 × 1.3-4.5 cm, adaxially hirsute, abaxially glabrous, hirsute on veins, base rounded to cordate, margin coarsely crenate; terminal leaflet ovate-elliptic, to 9 cm × 5 mm, lateral leaflets ovate. Verticillasters 6-14-flowered, widely spaced, in racemes or panicles; bracts lanceolate, to 2 mm. Pedicel 1-2 mm, curved downward, densely pubescent. Calyx campanulate, purplish, ca. 4 mm, glandular pilose, throat hirsute annulate; upper lip triangular, less than ca. 1 × 2 mm; lower lip ca. 1 × 3 mm, teeth triangular, apex acute. Corolla violet, slightly puberulent; tube imperfectly fine pilose annulate inside, cylindric, ca. 5.5 mm; upper lip oblong, ca. 4.5 × 2.1 mm; middle lobe of lower lip ca. 2 × to 6 mm, undulate; lateral lobes ovate, 1-1.5 mm wide. Filaments ca. 3 mm; connectives ca. 5 mm, upper arms ca. 3.5 mm, slightly curved, lower arms short, apex united. Style exserted, ca. 1.3 cm. Nutlets brownish, ellipsoid, ca. 1.3 × 0.7 mm. Fl. Jun-Aug.

Anhui, Guangdong, Guangxi, Hunan, Jiangxi, Zhejiang

* Hillsides, grassy places; 100-800 m.

Salvia japonica Thunberg var. prionitis (Hance) Kudo.

Salvia prionitis is an annual herb that is native to Anhui, Guangdong, Guangxi, Hunan, Jiangxi, and Zhejiang provinces in China, found growing on hillsides and grassy places at 100 to 800 m (330 to 2,620 ft) elevation. S. prionitis grows on erect stems 20 to 43 cm (7.9 to 16.9 in) tall, with mostly basal leaves. Inflorescences are widely spaced 6-14 flowered verticillasters in racemes or panicles, with a violet corolla.