Salvia (Lamiaceae) is the largest genus in the mint family, and phenotypic diversity of the genus in Africa is largely the result of repeated colonizations of the continent from different sources. Will and Claßen-Bockhoff produce a phylogenetic reconstruction and suggest that parallel character evolution is the rule rather than the exception in Old World Salvia. Notable examples are given by papery, conspicuously coloured calyces and repeated switches from bee- to bird-pollination. Different staminal lever types also evolved in parallel and should not be used any longer for characterizing major clades.