Mexican bladdersage

Salazaria mexicana

Salazaria mexicana, commonly known by variants on bladder sage or paperbag bush, is a shrub of the mint family Lamiaceae distinctive for its calyx lobes that develop into small bag- or bladder-like shells around the fruits. Widespread in the southwestern part of North America, it is the only member of its genus. This plant takes the form of a rounded shrub, typically 50-100 centimeter high, sometimes larger. The stems form a spreading rigid pattern, with the tips often becoming spine-like. The leaves are small, 3-15 millimeter long and 2-8 millimeter wide, ovate to elliptic, entire, and with a very short or nonexistent petiole. The 2-lipped flowers develop in pairs facing away from each other; the upper lip is white to light violet and hairy, while the lower lip is 3-lobed and intense dark violet. The calyx starts out as simply a base to the flower, reddish-purple in shade, and then as the flower ages, it expands into its distinctive bag shape, 1-2 centimeter across, the dried flower eventually falling out of the hole in the end.