Salvia repari or ripari

Dear Jan,
As you have noted there is some confusion on the correct name for Salvia
ripara, S. riparia, S. rypara, S. misella, etc.! Looking thru our 
reference books
at Cabrillo College I came up with the following:

A Gardener's Guide to Growing Salvias, John Sutton, 1999
lists Salvia misella (syn. Salvia riparia)
Sutton states that "In the wild it favours dry river banks."

A Book of Salvias, Sages for Every Garden, Betsy Clebsch, 1997
Betsy does not cover this species.

Salvias II, Christine Yeo, 1997
lists Salvia rypara (Briquet, J.)
says "Native to Bolivia and Northern Argentina where it inhabits the 
sides of
dry river beds."

Index of Garden Plants, Mark Griffiths ed., 1994
lists Salvia riparia (Kunth)

Catalogue Synonymique Des Salvia L. Du Monde (Lamiaceae), Gabriel 
Alziar,1993
lists Salvia rypara (Briquet, J.)

A Revision of Salvia, Subgenus Calosphace by Carl Epling 1940
lists Salvia riparia (Kunth)

    Here at Cabrillo College We use Alziars Catalogue from 1993 as our
definitive reference for correct Salvia nomenclature because it is the 
most
comprehensive, up-to-date treatment of the genus Salvia. Others may still 
use Epling. I guess the main point is to be consistent in your reference 
point.

    Its exciting how more and more Salvia species are making it into the
horticultural trade in California. We have nearly 200 different plants in 
our
garden at Cabrillo and we offered 125 Salvias at our annual plant sale 
including
Salvia rypara.

    Salvia rypara (as we call it) died back to the ground after winter
temperatures of 23-25 degrees in December of 1998 but came back strong the
following spring from underground rhizomatous growth. I find the older, 
woody
stems to be unattractive so I remove them each spring to encourage lush, 
new
spring green growth. The flowers are small but a nice light blue and will 
lighten
up the garden when planted in some filtered shade. Our deer munch the 
tallest
stems back which encourages new basal growth. Our plants look good in
containers and sell well at our plant sale.

Ernie Wasson


All things hang like a drop of dew upon a blade of grass. - Yeats

Sunset Zone 17, USDA Zone 10

"All Plants Considered" at www.gardens.com
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