Salvia munzii is a bushy shrub which may exceed 2 metres (6.6 ft) in height, its branches coated in hairs.

[3] It was described by Carl Epling in 1935, in the third issue of the journal Madroño, the type specimen collected from a small arroyo south of Hamilton Ranch, Baja California.

[2] It may be distinguished from S. mellifera by its more compact, rounded habit, the unbranched inflorescence, the more obovate-shaped leaves, and particularly by the shape of the corolla and stamens, with the corolla is also colored a uniformly darker blue than S. mellifera, rarely matching in color.

[4] In Baja California, this shrub is common, and can be found sparsely from Tijuana south until Ensenada, where its distribution becomes more abundant, further south to the northern Central Desert region around the Boojum tree belt in El Rosario, and it extends about 25 miles inland.

[6] This species most often grows in association with Artemisia californica, a co-dominant member of the coastal sage formation, and frequently with Salvia apiana.

[1][6] This plant is well-adapted for small gardens and perennial borders, and it also attracts hummingbirds and butterflies.