The .5 inches (1.3 cm) flowers are white, with whitish bracts, calyx, and leaves, blooming from April to June.

[2] The American botanist Samuel Bonsall Parish placed Audibertia vaseyi into genus Salvia in 1907.

[3] As of January 2025[update], the name Salvia vaseyi (Porter) Parish is widely accepted.

[4] In his description, Porter describes the type specimen as follows:[5] Mountain Springs, San Diego county, California, June 1880.

500 of a large and fine collection made last summer in lower California by Mr. G. R. Vasey, in whose honor it is named.Later authors attributed the specific epithet vaseyi to the well-known botanist George S. Vasey,[6][7] when in fact the type specimen was collected by his son George Richard Vasey.