Pitcher Sage :

Woodbalm
Lepechinia calycina
NATIVE – CA ENDEMIC

Description (Jepson, PlantID.net)

Eudicotyledon
- Eudicots are a major lineage of flowering plants; see family for general characteristics
Mint Family (Lamiaceae)
Evergreen shrub
Stems square in cross-section
- The sides bulge a bit, making this trait of the Mint family harder to discern
Bark, stems, and leaves with long hairs
Leaves
- Opposite (2 leaves at each junction with stem) and simple (not divided into leaflets)
- Lance-shaped to oval, with toothed margins and a rough upper surface
- Hairy and sticky
- Strongly aromatic
Flowers
- Inflorescence (flower arrangement) an open raceme (unbranched stem with stalked flowers opening from the bottom up)
- Large, bilaterally-symmetrical, open trumpets
- 5-fused petals, white to light lavender, rolled back at the tips
  - Bottom petal longer and larger than the 4 smaller, upper fused petals
- Sepals (usually green, outer flower parts) 5-lobed, fused, and inflated
- Ovary superior (above the attachment of other flower parts)
Fruit a set of 4 single-seeded nutlets (small dry fruits that do not split open, derived from a multi-chambered ovary)
Height to 7 ft.

Distribution

Native and endemic (limited) to California
- Grows in chaparral and foothill woodlands
- See Calflora for statewide observations of this plant
Grows at elevations between 490 and 2,900 ft.

Uses (San Mateo County Parks prohibits removal of any natural material)

Attractive to bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds
Used by Native people for headaches and fever; leaves steeped as a tea for urinary infections
Plants in the genus Lepechinia are known for their antioxident properties and are commonly used in folk medicine across South America and Central America (Parejo 2004)

Name Derivation

Lepechinia (leh-pe-CHIN-e-a) – named after Ivan Ivanovich Lepechin (1737-1802), a Russian botanist, physician, and explorer; director of the Saint Petersburg Botanical Garden
calycina (ca-le-SIN-a) – from the Greek kalyx, “cup or covering,” referring to the calyx, (collective term for sepals), which is prominent and persistent in this species
Pitcher sage – from the inflated pitcher-like shape of the fused, persistent sepals; or from the pitcher-like shape of the flowers, with the longer bottom petal creating a spout
- This name is also used for a number of species in the Salvia genus of the Mint family

Notes

The sepal cup (calyx) persists long after the flower drops and turns from green to reddish purple, enclosing the fruit; by winter, the plant appears to be decorated with brown lanterns
Aromatic leaves deter browsing
Recovers quickly after fire or disturbance

At Edgewood

Found in chaparral and open woodlands
- See iNaturalist for observations of this plant
Flowers April – July

Specific References

Wilson, B. 2012. Lepechinia calycina, California Pitcher Plant. Las Pilitas Native Plant Nursery.

General References

Calflora Database. 2014. Berkeley, California.

Calscape. 2018. California Native Plant Society.

Corelli, T. 2004. Flowering Plants of Edgewood Natural Preserve (2nd. ed.). Monocot Press, Half Moon Bay, California.

Elpel, T.J. 2013. Botany in a Day: The Patterns Method of Plant Identification. HOPS Press, Pony, Montana.

Harris, J.G., and M.W. Harris. 2013. Plant Identification Terminology: An Illustrated Glossary. Spring Lake Publishing, Spring Lake, Utah.

Keator, G. 2009. California Plant Families. University of California Press, Berkeley and Los Angeles, California.

Regents of the University of California. Jepson eFlora. Jepson Herbarium. University of California, Berkeley.