Salvia veneris

Salvia veneris
Conservation status
Critically Endangered  (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Asterids
Order:	Lamiales
Family:	Lamiaceae
Genus:	Salvia
Species:	S. veneris
Binomial name
Salvia veneris Hedge
Synonyms
Salvia crassifolia Sibth. & Smith

Salvia veneris, the Kythrean sage, is a species of flowering plant in the Lamiaceae family that is endemic to Cyprus. It is found in a very small area just west of the village of Kythrea. A study in 2004 found only approximately 4,000 surviving plants.

Salvia veneris has felt-like leaves growing in a basal rosette. The flowers are bi-colored, with the upper lip blue and the lower lip white with pale yellow markings. The stems give off a pleasant fragrance when crushed. The basal rosette leaf habit is unusual in the Salvia genus, and is thought to be an adaptation to grazing by goats.

Sources

• Viney, D.E., Christofides, Y. & Kadis, C. 2006. Salvia veneris. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 20 July 2007.
• de Montmollin, Bertrand; Wendy Strahm (2005). IUCN/SSC Mediterranean Islands Plant Specialist Group, ed. The top 50 Mediterranean Island plants: wild plants at the brink of extinction, and what is needed to save them. IUCN. ISBN 978-2-8317-0832-4.