Arizona Desert Purple Sage
Purple Sage: botanical name, salvia dorrii, is a perennial shrub that was used as both a food source and a medicinal plant by the native peoples of Nevada, the Paiute, Washoe and Western Shoshone Indians. Please note: Not to be mistaken for the Jimmy Hendrix tune, “Purple Haze,” OR the cannabis that inspired it.
In 1912, Zane Grey wrote a violent book that he softened by setting the tale among the purple slopes of Utah. Riders of the Purple Sage is an ode to women of the West, their independence, and strength of mind and spirit, a testimonial to the fact that bullies don’t always win. Too, it’s Grey’s opus to the wild beauty of the rugged country that a century later still shelters and nurtures the delicate purple flower thriving in an inhospitable environment and painting the desert with color.
Purple sage is native to the high desert and mountainous areas in the Western United States. On the trail, cowboys tossed sticks of aromatic sagebrush into their campfire to keep mosquitoes at bay. We’re told the leaves can be dried and used for tea. But don’t try this at home without verifying it via a more reliable source than Wikipedia.
Birds and butterflies are drawn to its intense aroma and protective shade.
Westerners plant the Xeriscape-friendly bushes in our yards. It’s hardy and drought resistant, but that’s not to say sagebrush doesn’t sigh in relief and rejoice after a rainstorm with the rest of the parched desert. The plain, dusty-looking shrubs burst into life with small purple flowers with delicate petals, and they’ll flower off and on throughout the year—like now, during our Arizona monsoon season.
If Arizona strikes your fancy, check out Stealing the Moon & Stars, a romantic suspense novel set in Arizona—the heat is on for a pair of Scottsdale PIs.
And strictly for the entertainment value, link up to a little campfire music from some old pros.
The evidence suggests: The high Arizona desert isn’t a barren place at all. Purple sage is only one of many unique and beautiful plants native to the area. Zane Grey knew it, too, and maybe even Jimmy Hendrix, although the jury is still out on that.
