On 9 October 2020, I watched an Anna’s Hummingbird feeding in the Salvia at the end of our porch. We bought the pink and white flowered Salvia more or less by mistake. We aimed to purchase “normal” Salvia like the flower in the second photo. We also have a dark purple Salvia that you can see behind the multicolored flowers in the first photo. I was surprised that the hummingbird stuck its bill high up on the flower, not towards the end of the corolla like in the second photo.
Taking a closer look at the multicolored Salvia, the entrance to the corolla is actually at the top of the back of the flower, with stamens hanging overhead—exactly where the hummingbird probed. (I have no clue what the small, hole-like structures at the bottom end of the flower might be.) This plant seems to be Baby Sage, Salvia microphylla, of Arizona and Mexico. Horticulturalists have bred lots of hybrids of this plant, and this Salvia must be one of those nursery-store products. I do not know the name or the origins of the red Salvia.
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