Salvia sessei is a perennial that grows in several states in central Mexico between 600 and 7,000 feet elevation on the edge of pine forests and woodlands. It was first collected by the Spanish botanist Martín Sessé y Lacasta and the Mexican-born Spanish naturalist José Mariano Mociño. The two were part of the Royal Botanical Expedition of 1777 sent by King Charles III of Spain to Guatemala and Mexico.