Purple Himalayan Sage is a perennial herb with a rather slender rootstock.
Stems are few, 20-50 cm, usually unbranched, hairy.
Leaves are ovate, herbaceous, aromatic; blade 5-10 x 4-7 cm,
regularly rounded toothed, deeply heart-shaped to flat,
nervation inprominent. Leaf-stalk is 3-8 cm on
lower leaves, less above. Flowers are borne in whorls in interrupted spikes.
Whorls are about 14-20-flowered, 2.5-4 cm in diameter. Bracts are numerous,
slightly shorter than calyces, herbaceous, adpressed to sepal-cup, linear,
tapering to spinulose, fringed with long simple eglandular hairs.
Sepal-cup is 10-12 mm, with a similar indumentum to bracts, sometimes
becoming hairless; teeth 3-4 mm, subulate to spinulose. Flowers are rose,
or pinkish purple or violet, 1.5-2 cm; upper lip sickle shaped densely
white-hairy, inner margin white-bearded, laterally finely toothed.
Purple Himalayan Sage is found in Afghanistan, Punjab to the Himalaya,
from Kashmir to Bhutan, at altitudes of 2400-4100 m.
Identification credit: Nongthombam Ullysess
Photographed in Valley of Flowers, Uttarakhand.
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The flower labeled Purple Himalayan Sage is ...