A tall stem of Lepechinia hastata with pairs of spear shaped leaves, buds and rose colored flowers.

🌱 #Lepechinia hastata / Cape Pitcher sage.

A picture of two species of Pitchersages, Lepechinia fragrans with its larger lavender purple flowers and Lepechinia hastata with its smaller magenta flowers. Fuzzy foliage and empty sepals of spent L. fragrans dominate the upper right of the image, while soil in dappled shade is visible, out of focus, in the left.

A quick post for Monday of just two pitchersages growing into each other. Fragrant Pitchersage and Baja Pitchersage certainly grow differently but their aromas compliment each other!

#photography #bloomscrolling #flowers #garden #mint #lepechinia #fragrans #hastata #herbs

A closeup picture of El Tigre Pitchersage, Lepechinia fragrans 'El Tigre' with flowers in center of frame. The sepals are somewhat longer than other varieties, close to where the flower petals flare, but very similar in shape with the same mint green and brown-purple veining. The flowers themselves are a similar cotton candy pink color and tubular shape with "bee landing pad" to other L. fragrans I've seen. The leaves are a similar green to the sepals, but lacking the purple veining, and similarly fuzzy. The stems are more yellow.

Here it is, the cultivar of Fragrant Pitchersage, called El Tigre after a peak on Santa Cruz Island. I needed a friend to help confirm that! It's a fine plant, but I don't favor the fragrance of this variety. Grows well.

#photography #flowers #garden #mint #lepechinia #fragrans #herbs

A picture of Fragrant Pitchersage, Lepechinia fragrans, prominently featuring the large, tubular flowers. The flowers are pink, with a partially white interior that is barely visible in the photograph. Also clearly visible is a large "tongue" or "landing pad" extending the lower lip of the flower (which is fused to form the tubular blossom) which is typical of many Mint family plants. At the back, the flower is cupped in a calyx with long, pointed sepals extending outward like a secondary, green and fuzzy flower.

Here's another nice detail shot of the flowers of Fragrant Pitchersage. I have another specimen, but it's not blooming. I'll talk about that one, a named cultivar, when it does bloom.

#photography #flowers #garden #mint #lepechinia #fragrans #herbs

Baja Pitchersage, Lepechinia hastata, blooming in the shade. Narrow, tubular flowers in fuchsia on thin stems are borne on a tall flowering spike. The flowers surround this "flowering spike," a stem which produces almost only flowers and few regular leaves. The regular leaves are blurry, in the background, with a defined spearhead shape in mint green.

I took this picture last month, and as a birthday treat, I'll share this on the weekend! Baja Pitchersage, Lepechinia hastata, is native to Baja California and has naturalized to the big island of Hawaii. Smells like fruit punch.

#photography #flowers #garden #mint #lepechinia #hastata #herbs

A shot of Lepechinia Fragrans, Fragrant Pitchersage, showing the large tubular flowers and soft, textured leaves. The pinkish purple flowers are flared at the end with an extended, frilly lower lip that bees can land on. A fairly simple calyx of fused, modified leaves cups and protects the base of the flower, the same color as the leaves and covered in the same fragrant hairs, but with dark veining. The leaves are roughly spear-shaped with a soft serration to the edge and rugose or bumpy texture to the top surface. The leaf, calyx, and stem are all covered in soft trichomes or plant hairs that release a strong fragrance similar to apricots and peaches when disturbed.

Hey look, I found a plant picture for today to at least distract from today. This is Fragrant Pitchersage, native to a small range in the California Channel Islands and Santa Monica Mountains. Gorgeous medium to large shrub.

#photography #flowers #garden #mint #lepechinia #fragrans #herbs