Perennial 4-8 dm, densely white-tomentose throughout with long matted hairs; lvs lanceolate to oblong, 5-10 cm, the inconspicuous teeth mostly covered by the tomentum;
verticils several, forming a nearly continuous spike, only the pink or purple cors (these 15-25 mm) projecting from the dense tomentum. Mediterranean sp., occasionally escaped from cult. in our range. (S. olympica, perhaps misapplied)
Gleason, Henry A. & Cronquist, Arthur J. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. lxxv + 910 pp.
