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Labiatae

Bladder-sage inhabits the brushy areas of desert washes and clay flats of the southern Trans-Pecos and into Mexico at 1000 to 3500 feet, and also ranges north into Arizona, New Mexico, Utah and Nevada. It has intricate, wide-spreading, wiry pale green branches which are spiny-tipped and slightly covered with fine whitish hairs. The salvia-like flower is pink and purple, but it is named and known for its fruit which inflates into a 1/2 to 3/4 inch reddish or pale yellow papery bladder. In dry areas with good drainage it might be grown as a curiosity, or perhaps included in an elementary school native planting. Its other name is paperbagbush for its inflated, papery fruit.

Plant Habit or Use: small shrub

Exposure: sun

Flower Color: pink with purple lip

Blooming Period: summer
fall

Fruit Characteristics: nutlets

Height: 1 to 3.5 feet

Width: 2 to 3 feet

Plant Character: deciduous

Heat Tolerance: high

Water Requirements:

Soil Requirements: neutral

USDA Hardiness Zone: 7

Additional Comments: