Salvia splendens is native to Brazil. It is now widely cultivated as a summer or warm-weather annual. "Annual" salvia is a tender tropical perennial that is typcally grown as a warm weather annual bedding plant. It has long been a garden standard, reliably blooming over an extended period. Ever more varieties are being developed, giving a wide range of colors, including white, salmon and purple, as well as the traditional bright red, and heights from about 8 in to nearly 3 ft. Leaves are bright to dark green, elliptical and toothed. Flowers grow on spikes and are two-lipped, with a flat lower lip and helmet-shaped upper lip.