Spain. Undivided dark gray green leaves form a compact mound to 18"; 2'+ wands carry large, widely spaced blue purple flowers over the foliage in spring and early summer. Needs good drainage. Z7

Native to Spain. This species is a hardy, wood, shrub to 90-90 cm. The stems are little branched, woody and stiff. The greyish green leaves are lanceolate, rugose with crenate margins and sticky hairy its aromatic when crushed. The inflorescence are candelabra like (hence the name) to 90 cm tall, held high above the foliage, from June to September. The flowers are large and have the unusual feature of being held vertically against the stem so that the lips point upwards. The corolla tube is white marked violet and the upper lip is pale violet with the lower lip rich, velvety purple with white markings. It is hardy to -10 C.

This species is often confused with S. ringens and interrupta which are similar in flowers but have pinnate foliage. Propagation is by seed or cuttings.