Salvia venulosa

{{Short description|Species of flowering plant}}

{{Speciesbox

| image = Salvia venulosa.jpg

| taxon = Salvia venulosa

| authority = Epling

}}

Salvia venulosa is a perennial plant that is native to a very small region of the Western Cordillera in Colombia. It grows at {{convert|1500|to|2000|m|ft|abbr=on}} elevation in deeply shaded wooded gullies. S. venulosa grows less than {{convert|1|m|ft}} tall, with narrow ovate leaves that are {{convert|6|to|9|cm|in|abbr=on}} long and {{convert|3|cm|in}} wide, and violet on the underside. The flower is an unusual wine-red color.{{cite journal|last1=Wood|first1=J. R. I.|last2=Harley|first2=R. M.|year=1989|title=The Genus Salvia (Labiatae) in Colombia|journal=Kew Bulletin|publisher=Springer|volume=44|issue=2|pages=211–278|jstor=4110799|doi=10.2307/4110799}}

A 2010 phylogenetic study of Salvia divinorum and 52 other Salvia species in the subgenus Calosphace suggest that S. venulosa is the closest known relative of S. divinorum.{{cite journal | author = Aaron A. Jenks, Jay B. Walker and Seung-Chul Kim | title = Evolution and origins of the Mazatec sage, Salvia divinorum (Lamiaceae): a molecular phylogenetic approach | journal=Journal of Plant Research | volume = 124| issue = 5| pages = 593–600| year = 2010 | pmid = 21125306 | doi = 10.1007/s10265-010-0394-6 | s2cid = 28382245 }} Relatively few species (out of the 600 species of Salvia occurring in Mexico and South America) were included in that study. And it is likely that another yet-to-be identified Salvia is actually more closely related to S. divinorum. There is no evidence whatsoever that S. venulosa has any uncommon alkaloids.