Salvia nemorosa L. (incl. S. xsuperba Stapf, S. xsylvestris L.) (C and E-Eur., W-As.) – A regular but usually ephemeral escape from cultivation. Apparently decreasing in the past decades and now probably frequently replaced by other species in gardens. First collected in 1864 in Virton (without further details). Probably best known from waste land near Visé (Grand Barrage) where Salvia nemorosa persisted in abundance, at least between 1870 and 1917. Between 1881 and 1896 also more or less naturalized near the old city walls of Leuven. Recorded in numerous other localities but mostly ephemeral (see here for an up-to-date overview of Belgian records: http://waarnemingen.be/soort/view/9168). Salvia nemorosa is most often seen on waste land, by road verges or on dumps. However, some records are from the valley of river Vesdre (possibly as a wool alien) or from near grain mills. In the past decades it is still regularly seen but usually in small number and rarely persisting for more than a few years.
At present it seems no longer possible to distinguish between this species and its hybrids. Therefore, Salvia nemorosa is here accepted in a wide sense and comprises hybrids with S. amplexicaulis Lam. and S. pratensis. Genuine Salvia nemorosa is possibly no longer cultivated as an ornamental.
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Selected literature:
Brandes D. (1985) Zur Verbreitung und Soziologie von Salvia nemorosa L. in Mitteleuropa. Florist. Rundbr. 19(1): 29-34. [available online at:
http://digisrv-1.biblio.etc.tu-bs.de:8080/docportal/receive/DocPortal_document_00039740]
Daskalova T. (2004) On some specificities of seed formation in Salvia nemorosa (Lamiaceae). Phytologia Balcanica 10: 79-84. [available online at: http://www.bio.bas.bg/~phytolbalcan/PDF/10_1/10_1_13_Daskalova.pdf]
Feder J. (2008) Über Salvia nemorosa L. (Steppen-Salbei) auf dem Güterbahnhof Lehrte bei Hannover. Bremer Botanische Briefe 1: 12-13. [available online at: http://www.internetchemie.info/botanik/bbb/bremer-botanische-briefe-1.pdf]
Gardenfors U. (1988) Legousia hybrida on Oland and Salvia nemorosa in Skane, Sweden (in Swedish). Svensk Bot. Tidskr. 82(3): 193-196.
López González G. (1980) Salvia sylvestris L. (= S. nemorosa L.) en Cuenca (Espana). An. Jard. Bot. Madrid 37(1): 207-208. [available online at: http://www.rjb.csic.es/jardinbotanico/ficheros/documentos/pdf/anales/1980/Anales_37(1)_205_216.pdf]