Phlomis fruticosa | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
(unranked): | Angiosperms |
(unranked): | Eudicots |
(unranked): | Asterids |
Order: | Lamiales |
Family: | Lamiaceae |
Genus: | Phlomis |
Species: | P. fruticosa |
Binomial name | |
Phlomis fruticosa L. |
Phlomis fruticosa (Jerusalem sage) is a species of flowering plant of the Lamiaceae family, native to Albania, Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Turkey, and regions of the former Yugoslavia.
It is a small evergreen shrub, up to 1 m (3 ft) tall by 1.5 m (5 ft) wide. The sage-like, aromatic leaves are oval, 2-4 inches long, wrinkled, grey-green with white undersides, and covered with fine hairs. Light yellow, tubular flowers, 3 cm in length, grow in whorls of 20 in short spikes in summer.
The specific epithet fruticosa means "shrubby".
It is popular as an ornamental plant, and has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.
As a garden escape, it has naturalised in parts of South West England.
Phlomis fruticosa flower
Phlomis fruticosa flower