_Ramona stachyoides_ (Benth.) Briquet (synonyms--_Audibertia
stachyoides_ Benth., _Salvia mellifera_ Greene), commonly known as
black sage (figs. 1 and 2), is a shrubby aromatic perennial, occurring
from middle to southern California on low hills from April to June. The
shrub attains a height of 3 to 6 feet and possesses herbaceous leafy
branches with oblong leaves, green and wrinkled above and ash colored
and hairy below. The flowers are white or lilac and in whorls or heads.
The leaves have a strongly aromatic and decidedly camphoraceous odor,
the woody branches being very brittle and also strongly aromatic.
[Illustration: +Fig. 1.+--A plant of black sage (_Ramona stachyoides_)
growing near Riverside, Cal.]