Salvia rubescens is a herbaceous perennial flowering plant native to the state of Mérida in Venezuela.

The University of California Botanical Garden had been growing it since 1993 from a plant collected that year in Venezuela, only identifying it as S. rubescens in 2001.

[1] Salvia rubescens is an erect plant that grows 4–5 ft (1.2–1.5 m) tall, and is fully covered with mid-green ovate leaves with a sawtooth edge.

The inflorescences grow another 1–2 ft (0.30–0.61 m) above the foliage, with flowering beginning in midsummer and lasting until the first frost.

The 1 in (2.5 cm) flowers are a vibrant red-orange color, growing in widely spaced whorls.