Salvia trijuga Diels

Used medicinally.

Herbs perennial. Stems erect, 30-60 cm, villous. Leaves simple or ternate compound, rarely 5-foliolate, lower stem leaves ternate, long petiolate, upper simple or ternate; petiole 5-7 cm, petiolule of terminal leaflet 0.8-3 cm; terminal leaflet ovate to elliptic-cordate, 5-6 × 4-5 cm, adaxially densely appressed bristly, abaxially sparsely yellowish glandular, pilose on veins, base cordate to truncate, margin crenate, apex obtuse; lateral leaflets ovate to circular-ovate, 1-4 × 0.5-2.8 cm. Inflorescences densely villous, glandular pubescent; verticillasters 2-flowered, widely spaced, in terminal racemes or panicles; bracts lanceolate to narrowly ovate, 5-12 × 1-3 mm, glandular ciliate. Pedicel ca. 3 mm. Calyx campanulate, 1-1.1 cm, glandular villous, 2-lipped to ca. 1/4 its length; upper lip 2.5 × 6 mm, 3 teeth broadly triangular, apex obtuse; lower lip as long as upper, 2 teeth triangular, apex acute to subacute. Corolla blue-purple with yellow spots; tube ca. 2 cm, cylindric toward base, abruptly dilated on exserted part, subglabrous or slightly pubescent, without conspicuous hairy annulus inside; upper lip falcate, ca. 9 mm, pubescent; lower lip longer, middle lobe transversely elliptic to subcircular, ca. 5 × 9 mm, margin undulate, apex emarginate; lateral lobes obliquely triangular, obtuse, ca. 2 mm wide. Filaments ca. 5 mm; connectives ca. 8 mm, arcuate, arms ± subequal. Nutlets blackish, narrowly ellipsoid. Fl. Jul-Sep.

Sichuan, Xizang, Yunnan

* Hillsides, streamsides, grasslands, thickets, forests, valleys; 1900-3900 m.

Salvia trijuga is a perennial plant that is native to Yunnan, Sichuan, and Xizang provinces in China, found growing on hillsides, streamsides, grasslands, thickets, forests, and valleys at 1,900 to 3,900 m (6,200 to 12,800 ft) elevation. S. trijuga grows on erect stems to 30 to 60 cm (12 to 24 in) tall.

Inflorescences are widely spaced 2-flowered verticillasters in terminal racemes or panicles, with a 2 cm (0.79 in) blue-purple corolla with yellow spots.