Coastal Sage Scrub Plants Meeting the Natives A Guide to selected Native Plants of the Coastal Sage Scrub. This aromatic shrub is commonly found on dry slopes below 2,000 feet in southern California.
Black sage grows to about six feet tall.
The small, button-like flower clusters are usually pale blue to white and bloom from April to June. Black sage became a common name because the whorls of blooms remain after they set seed forming dark spheres along the dry stalks. Bladderpod is the most common member of this tropical family found in southern California. This is the only shrub-member found in this area. The dull yellow, showy flowers may appear at any time of the year, but are most numerous in spring.