Phlomis
purpurea
Linnaeus
Sp.
Pl. 585 (1753)
Illust.: Bot. Mag. t. 518 (1968)
Colour Plates: VI (iii), (iv), (v), (vi)
Synonym: P. salviaefolia Jacquin
Distribution in the wild:
S Portugal, S Spain and Morocco.
purpurea
means purple and refers to the
most common corolla colour.
This
shrub is best characterised from its whorl and bracteoles.
The more compact plants in cultivation seem to suffer from
bad suckering and those that don’t sucker tend to be rather
lax in growing, benefiting from being grown amongst other
shrubs for support. Careful selection from the wild of a
good growing form with a good pink colour is a priority.
The species is very variable in the wild, with leaves from
green to grey and flower colour from deep purple through
pink to white. Some of the forms distributed in commerce
seem to suffer tip damage from sub-zero temperatures in
our gardens. Greatly benefits from being cut back
regularly.
Branching
lax evergreen shrub to 2 m. high (more commonly around 1
m. ). Lower leaf laminas green through grey to khaki, ovate,
lanceolate or oblong with truncate or cordate base, entire
or crenate at margin, 4-10(–14) × 0.7-5(-6.5) cm; petiole
to 5cm. Floral leaves greener than lower leaves , lanceolate,
4-7 cm by 1-2 cm; petiole 0.5-1.2 cm. Flowering stems simple
or branched, bearing up to 5 whorls per stem, each with
up to 12 flowers. Whorls 4-5 cm across. Bracteoles lanceolate
or elliptic, acuminate, 10-18 × 3-5 mm, adpressed. Calyx
to 16 mm, 10 veins, with teeth to 6 mm and a mucro 2-4
mm. Corolla 23-26 mm, purple with lower lip sometimes almost
white. Nutlets hairless or with very short glandular hairs.
Hardy to -10°C.
P.
purpurea Linnaeus
subsp. purpurea
Leaves
5-10(-14) × 1-5(-6.5) cm. Mucro of calyx teeth longer than
2 mm. A white form is in cultivation as are various shades
of pink to deep purple. There is also a form with a very
green leaf, P. purpurea ‘Green leaf’
Natural
hybrid:
P.
× margartiae Aparicio & Silvestre
Lagascalia 14(1):100-101
(1986)
(P.
× composita Pau × P. purpurea
Linnaeus)
Woody
sub-shrub 50-80 cm Basal leaves 9-17 × 2.5-3 cm, ovate-lanceolate,
truncate or obtuse at base. Floral leaves 5-7 × 1.5-3 cm,
ovate-lanceolate, acute. Calyx 18-22 mm, teeth 7-10mm. Bracteoles
15-20 × 0.6-1.3 mm, ovate-lanceolate, densely pilose. Corolla
28-32 mm. Upper lip rose-coloured, lower lip brownish yellow.
Distribution: Spain (Sierra Margarita)
P.
purpurea Linnaeus subsp.
almeriensis
(Pau) Losa & Rivas Goday ex Rivas Martínez
Acta Bot. Malacitana 2:61 (1976)
Synonym: P. purpurea Linnaeus var. almeriensis
Pau Distribution in the wild: Spain (Almería, Granada).
This
subspecies has generally narrower and smaller grey leaves
(4-9 × 0.7-3 cm) than P. purpurea var. purpurea
and is found in the Almería region of Spain. Calyx teeth
with mucros to 1mm, occasionally 2mm, but much less than
in P. purpurea var. purpurea.
P. purpurea Linnaeus subsp. caballeroi (Pau) Rivas Martínez Acta
Bot. Malacitana 2:61 (1976)
Synonym:P. caballeroi Pau
Distribution in the wild: Algeria &
Morocco.
Described
as being from Almería (Spain), and also mentioned in the
province of Alicante in Spain. Rivas Goday and Rivas Martínez
(1969) began to doubt its presence in Almería. Mateu (1986)
has never found living material attributable to this taxon
in Spain.
The
descriptions say that the upper leaf surface is greenish
and almost hairless in this subspecies. Calyx mucros very
small and hidden in the indumentum.
Two
varieties of P. caballeroi, var. montana and
var. submontana have been reported by Pau and Font
Quer from Morocco.
