Salvia cuspidata is a perennial shrub native to the Andes mountains in Bolivia, Chile, and Peru, growing at elevations up to 10,000 ft (3,000 m). Salvia cuspidata subsp. gilliesii, originally named Salvia gilliesii by George Bentham in 1873, was renamed Salvia cuspidata subsp. gilliesii in 2007. It has been only recently that gardeners have discovered the plant. It has been grown and distributed on the French Riviera since 1994 and in the U.S. since 2002.