Munz's sage

Salvia munzii is a bushy shrub that may exceed 2 metres (6.6 ft) in height, with its branches coated in hairs. The rough-textured leaves are up to 5 centimeters long, with their undersides densely hairy. The erect inflorescences are made up of many interrupted clusters of flowers, each cluster subtended by a pair of lance-shaped, leaflike bracts. The flower has a tubular blue corolla up to 1.5 centimeters long. Flowering is from January to May.

In Baja California, this shrub is common, and can be found sparsely from Tijuana south until Ensenada, where its distribution becomes more abundant, further south to the northern Central Desert region around the Boojum tree belt in El Rosario, and it extends about 25 miles inland. A voucher of this plant listed in the state of Sonora may be mislabeled and instead refers to the Sonoran Desert in Baja California; it is unclear if it occurs in the state of Sonora. In California, this plant is limited to the San Miguel Mountains of San Diego County, on public and private land. This plant is generally found in chaparral and coastal scrub. This species most often grows in association with Artemisia californica, a co-dominant member of the coastal sage formation, and frequently with Salvia apiana.

This plant is well-adapted for small gardens and perennial borders, and it also attracts hummingbirds and butterflies. Plants may look best if their tip is pruned continually, and watered once a month during summer. This species is tolerant of heavy soil, full sun, and is resistant to frost. The small leaves may create an interesting contrast with other sages.