Southern Danshen

Names and Synonyms

Common Names

• Southern Danshen
• Southern Redroot Sage

Scientific Names

Accepted name

Synonyms

• Salvia miltiorrhiza var. australis
• Salvia bowleyana f. alba

Sources: Wikidata, Catalogue of Life

Taxonomical Classification

This plant, Salvia bowleyaana, belongs to the kingdom Plantae within the phylum Streptophyta and the class Equisetopsida. It is further classified under the subclass Magnoliidae and the order Lamiales, falling into the family Lamiaceae. Finally, it is categorized under the genus Salvia.

Sources: The World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP)

Distribution

This plant is primarily found within a specific region of East Asia. Its natural habitat is concentrated in the southeastern part of China. Within this geographical range, it thrives in the unique environmental conditions of the Southeast. Because of this localized presence, the species is considered endemic to this particular territory. Consequently, its distribution remains limited to these specific Chinese provinces.

Sources: The World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP)

Botanical Identification

Life history

The life history of Salvia bowleyaana is characterized by its specific survival strategy as a hemicryptophyte, a classification that dictates how it manages its vegetative structures during unfavorable environmental conditions. As a hemicryptophyte, the plant maintains its perennating buds at or just below the soil surface, typically protected by a layer of leaf litter or organic debris. This life form allows the species to endure seasonal Dormancy while ensuring rapid regrowth when favorable conditions return. Within the broader spectrum of botanical life forms, it specifically functions as a hemicryptophyte (trait_2: hemicryptophyte), distinguishing it from other growth habits such as phanerophytes, chamaephytes, or therophytes. This specialized life history enables the plant to navigate its ecological niche by balancing the need for seasonal persistence with the ability to exploit available resources during its active growing periods.

Life form :

hemicryptophyte

Morphology

The morphology of Salvia bowlleyana is characterized by its growth habit as a self-supporting clamberer, meaning it possesses the structural integrity to ascend or spread without requiring external support, though it may utilize surrounding vegetation to extend its reach. It functions as an independent organism rather than a parasite, maintaining its own metabolic processes without relying on a host for nutrients. Furthermore, the plant is strictly terrestrial in its ecological niche, growing in soil rather than existing as an epiphyte.

Climber :

self-supporting

Epiphyte :

terrestrial

Parasite :

independent

Sources: Global Inventory of Floras and Traits (GIFT)

Plant Parts

Salvia bowleyana has 3 reported plant parts identified across 4 scientific publications and several other databases that are studied for medicinal purposes. The most consistently reported plant part include root, leaf, stem.

Root

1. Journal of integrative plant biology
2. The Plant journal : for cell and molecular biology

Leaf

1. Journal of integrative plant biology

Stem

1. Journal of integrative plant biology

Chemicals

Salvia bowleyana has 3 reported phytochemicals identified across 4 scientific publications and several other databases. The most consistently reported chemicals include Salvianolic acid B, colchicine, rosmarinic acid.

Salvianolic acid B

1. Journal of integrative plant biology

colchicine

1. Zhongguo Zhong yao za zhi = Zhongguo zhongyao zazhi = China journal of Chinese materia medica

rosmarinic acid

1. Journal of integrative plant biology