Salvia officinalis

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Salvia officinalis
Salvia officinalis0.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Lamiales
Family: Lamiaceae
Genus: Salvia
Species:
S. officinalis
Binomial name
Salvia officinalis
L.

Salvia officinalis, the common sage or sage, is a perennial, evergreen subshrub, with woody stems, grayish leaves, and blue to purplish flowers. It is a member of the mint family Lamiaceae and native to the Mediterranean region, though it has been naturalized in many places throughout the world. It has a long history of medicinal and culinary use, and in modern times it has been used as an ornamental garden plant. The common name "sage" is also used for closely related species and cultivars.

Contents

Description

Painting from Koehler's Medicinal Plants (1887) Koeh-126.jpg
Painting from Koehler's Medicinal Plants (1887)

Cultivars are quite variable in size, leaf and flower color, and foliage pattern, with many variegated leaf types. The Old World type grows to approximately 60 cm (2 ft) tall and wide, with lavender flowers most common, though they can also be white, pink, or purple. The plant flowers in late spring or summer. The leaves are oblong, ranging in size up to 65 mm (2+1⁄2 in) long by 25 mm (1 in) wide. Leaves are grey-green, rugose on the upper side, and nearly white underneath due to the many short soft hairs. Modern cultivars include leaves with purple, rose, cream, and yellow in many variegated combinations. [2] The common sage gives its name to the grayish-green color sage, due to the distinctive color of its leaves.

Taxonomy

Salvia officinalis was described by Carl Linnaeus in 1753. It has been grown for centuries in the Old World for its food and healing properties, and was often described in old herbals for the many miraculous properties attributed to it. [2] The binary name, officinalis, refers to the plant's medicinal use—the officina was the traditional storeroom of a monastery where herbs and medicines were stored. [3] [4] S. officinalis has been classified under many other scientific names over the years, including six different names since 1940 alone. [5] It is the type species for the genus Salvia .

Etymology

The specific epithet officinalis refers to plants with a well-established medicinal or culinary value. [3]

Salvia officinalis has numerous common names. Some of the best-known are sage, common sage, garden sage, golden sage, kitchen sage, true sage, culinary sage, Dalmatian sage, and broadleaf sage. Cultivated forms include purple sage and red sage. [3] [ verification needed ]

Distribution and habitat

Native to the Mediterranean region, it has been naturalized in many places throughout the world.

Cultivation

In favourable conditions in the garden, S. officinalis can grow to a substantial size (1 square metre or more), but a number of cultivars are more compact. As such they are valued as small ornamental flowering shrubs, rather than for their herbal properties. Some provide low ground cover, especially in sunny dry environments. Like many herbs they can be killed by a cold wet winter, especially if the soil is not well drained. But they are easily propagated from summer cuttings, and some cultivars are produced from seeds.

Named cultivars include:

'Icterina' [6] and 'Purpurascens' [7] have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. [8]

Uses

Historical uses

Salvia officinalis has been used since ancient times for treating snakebites, increasing women's fertility, and more. The Romans referred to sage as the "holy herb," and employed it in their religious rituals. [9] Theophrastus wrote about two different sages, a wild undershrub he called sphakos, and a similar cultivated plant he called elelisphakos. Pliny the Elder said the latter plant was called salvia by the Romans, and used as a diuretic, a local anesthetic for the skin, a styptic, and for other uses. Charlemagne recommended the plant for cultivation in the early Middle Ages, and during the Carolingian Empire, it was cultivated in monastery gardens. [10] Walafrid Strabo described it in his poem Hortulus as having a sweet scent and being useful for many human ailments—he went back to the Greek root for the name and called it lelifagus. [11]

Sage being gathered in a scene from the Tacuinum Sanitatis Tacuin Sauge36.jpg
Sage being gathered in a scene from the Tacuinum Sanitatis

The plant had a high reputation throughout the Middle Ages, with many sayings referring to its healing properties and value. [12] It was sometimes called S. salvatrix (sage the savior). Dioscorides, Pliny, and Galen all recommended sage as a diuretic, hemostatic, emmenagogue, and tonic. [11] Le Menagier de Paris, in addition to recommending cold sage soup and sage sauce for poultry, recommends infusion of sage for washing hands at table. [13] John Gerard's Herball (1597) states that sage "is singularly good for the head and brain, it quickeneth the senses and memory, strengtheneth the sinews, restoreth health to those that have the palsy, and taketh away shakey trembling of the members." [14] Gervase Markham's The English Huswife (1615) gives a recipe for a tooth-powder of sage and salt. [15] It appears in recipes for Four Thieves Vinegar, a blend of herbs which was supposed to ward off the plague. In past centuries, it was also used for hair care, insect bites and wasp stings, nervous conditions, mental conditions, oral preparations for inflammation of the mouth, tongue and throat, and also to reduce fevers. [11]

Culinary

The top side of a sage leaf - trichomes are visible Salvia officinalis close up.jpg
The top side of a sage leaf – trichomes are visible
A specimen of Salvia officinalis grown in a flowerpot Salvia officinalis in vaso.JPG
A specimen of Salvia officinalis grown in a flowerpot
Sage seeds are very small and almost spherical in shape Graines sauge.jpg
Sage seeds are very small and almost spherical in shape

In Britain, sage has for generations been listed as one of the essential herbs, along with parsley, rosemary, and thyme (as in the folk song "Scarborough Fair"). It has a savory, slightly peppery flavor. Sage appears in the 14th and 15th centuries in a "Cold Sage Sauce", known in French, English and Lombard cuisine, probably traceable to its appearance in Le Viandier de Taillevent. [16] It appears in many European cuisines, notably Italian, Balkan and Middle Eastern cookery. In Italian cuisine, it is an essential condiment for saltimbocca and other dishes, favored with fish. In British and American cooking, it is traditionally served as sage and onion stuffing, an accompaniment to roast turkey or chicken at Christmas or Thanksgiving Day, and for Sunday roast dinners. Other dishes include pork casserole, Sage Derby cheese and Lincolnshire sausages. Despite the common use of traditional and available herbs in French cuisine, sage never found favor there.

Essential oil

Common sage is grown in parts of Europe for distillation of an essential oil, although other species such as Salvia fruticosa may also be harvested and distilled with it.[ citation needed ]

Research

Extracts of Salvia officinalis and S. lavandulaefolia are under preliminary research for their potential effects on human brain function. [17] [18] The thujone present in Salvia extracts may be neurotoxic. [18]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oregano</span> Species of flowering plant

Oregano is a species of flowering plant in the mint family Lamiaceae. It was native to the Mediterranean region, but widely naturalised elsewhere in the temperate Northern Hemisphere.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rosemary</span> Species of plant

Salvia rosmarinus, commonly known as rosemary, is a shrub with fragrant, evergreen, needle-like leaves and white, pink, purple, or blue flowers. It is native to the Mediterranean region, as well as Portugal and Spain. Until 2017, it was known by the scientific name Rosmarinus officinalis, now a synonym.

<i>Salvia sclarea</i> Species of flowering plant

Salvia sclarea, the clary or clary sage, is a biennial (short-lived) herbaceous perennial in the genus Salvia. It is native to the northern Mediterranean Basin and to some areas in north Africa and Central Asia. The plant has long been cultivated as an herb and is currently grown for its essential oil.

<i>Salvia yangii</i> Flowering herbaceous perennial plant in the family Lamiaceae

Salvia yangii, previously known as Perovskia atriplicifolia, and commonly called Russian sage, is a flowering herbaceous perennial plant and subshrub. Although not previously a member of Salvia, the genus widely known as sage, since 2017 it has been included within them. It has an upright habit, typically reaching 0.5–1.2 metres tall, with square stems and gray-green leaves that yield a distinctive odor when crushed. It is best known for its flowers. Its flowering season extends from mid-summer to late October, with blue to violet blossoms arranged into showy, branched panicles.

<i>Althaea officinalis</i> Species of plant

Althaea officinalis, the marsh mallow or marshmallow, is a species of flowering plant indigenous to Europe, Western Asia and North Africa, which is used in herbalism and as an ornamental plant. A confection made from the root since ancient Egyptian times evolved into today's marshmallow treat, but most modern marshmallow treats no longer contain any marsh-mallow root.

<i>Mentha suaveolens</i> Species of flowering plant

Mentha suaveolens, the apple mint, pineapple mint, woolly mint or round-leafed mint, is a member of the mint family Lamiaceae. It is native to southern and western Europe including the Mediterranean region. It is a herbaceous, upright perennial plant that is most commonly grown as a culinary herb or for ground cover.

<i>Salvia guaranitica</i> Species of flowering plant

Salvia guaranitica, the anise-scented sage or hummingbird sage, is a species of flowering plant in the sage family, Lamiaceae, native to a wide area of South America, including Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Argentina. It is cultivated all over the world, and is naturalized in New Zealand and Chile.

<i>Salvia splendens</i> Species of flowering plant

Salvia splendens, the scarlet sage, is a tender herbaceous perennial plant native to Brazil, growing at 2,000 to 3,000 m elevation where it is warm year-round and with high humidity. The wild form, rarely seen in cultivation, reaches 1.3 m (4.3 ft) tall. Smaller cultivars are very popular as bedding plants, seen in shopping malls and public gardens all over the world.

<i>Lavandula angustifolia</i> Species of plant

Lavandula angustifolia, formerly L. officinalis, is a flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae, native to the Mediterranean. Its common names include lavender, true lavender and English lavender ; also garden lavender, common lavender and narrow-leaved lavender.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Purple sage</span> Index of plants with the same common name

Purple sage has various uses, mostly referring to plants or to Zane Grey's novel Riders of the Purple Sage, set in Utah. There is disagreement about what plant Grey had in mind.

<i>Thymus vulgaris</i> Species of flowering plant

Thymus vulgaris is a species of flowering plant in the mint family Lamiaceae, native to southern Europe from the western Mediterranean to southern Italy. Growing to 15–30 cm (6–12 in) tall by 40 cm (16 in) wide, it is a bushy, woody-based evergreen subshrub with small, highly aromatic, grey-green leaves and clusters of purple or pink flowers in early summer.

<i>Salvia pratensis</i> Species of flowering plant

Salvia pratensis, the meadow clary or meadow sage, is a species of flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae, native to Europe, western Asia and northern Africa. The Latin specific epithet pratensis means "of meadows", referring to its preferred habitat. It also grows in scrub edges and woodland borders.

<i>Salvia greggii</i> Species of flowering plant

Salvia greggii, the autumn sage, is a herbaceous perennial plant native to a long, narrow area from southwest Texas, through the Chihuahuan Desert and into the Mexican state of San Luis Potosi, typically growing in rocky soils at elevations from 5,000 to 9,000 ft. It was named and described in 1870 by botanist Asa Gray after Josiah Gregg, a merchant, explorer, naturalist, and author from the American Southwest and Northern Mexico, who found and collected the plant in Texas. It is closely related to, and frequently hybridizes with, Salvia microphylla. Despite the common name "autumn sage", it blooms throughout the summer and autumn.

<i>Salvia fruticosa</i> Species of shrub

Salvia fruticosa, or Greek sage, is a perennial herb or sub-shrub native to the eastern Mediterranean, including Southern Italy, the Canary Islands and North Africa. It is especially abundant in Palestine, Israel and Lebanon.

<i>Salvia microphylla</i> Species of shrub

Salvia microphylla, synonyms including Salvia grahamii, Salvia lemmonii and Salvia neurepia, the baby sage, Graham's sage, or blackcurrant sage, is an evergreen shrub found in the wild in southeastern Arizona and the mountains of eastern, western, and southern Mexico. It is a very complex species which easily hybridizes, resulting in numerous hybrids and cultivars brought into horticulture since the 1990s. The specific epithet microphylla, from the Greek, means "small leaved". In Mexico it is called mirto de montes, or "myrtle of the mountains".

<i>Salvia involucrata</i> Species of flowering plant

Salvia involucrata, the roseleaf sage, is a species of flowering plant in the sage family Lamiaceae. This herbaceous perennial is native to the Mexican states of Puebla, Tamaulipas, and Veracruz, growing in shady places such as the edge of forests. Its specific epithet involucrata refers to the prominent flower bracts, which are large and colorful.

<i>Salvia</i> Largest genus of plants in the mint family

Salvia is the largest genus of plants in the sage family Lamiaceae, with nearly 1,000 species of shrubs, herbaceous perennials, and annuals. Within the Lamiaceae, Salvia is part of the tribe Mentheae within the subfamily Nepetoideae. One of several genera, commonly referred to as sage, it includes two widely used herbs, Salvia officinalis and Salvia rosmarinus.

<i>Salvia officinalis <span style="font-style:normal;">subsp.</span> lavandulifolia</i> Species of shrub

Salvia officinalis subsp. lavandulifolia, synonym Salvia lavandulifolia, is a small woody herbaceous perennial native to Spain and southern France, growing in rocky soil in Maquis shrubland, often found growing with rosemary, Lavandula lanata, and Genista cinerea.

<i>Salvia nemorosa</i> Species of flowering plant

Salvia nemorosa, the woodland sage, Balkan clary, blue sage or wild sage, is a hardy herbaceous perennial plant native to a wide area of central Europe and Western Asia.

<i>Salvia patens</i> Species of flowering plant

Salvia patens, the gentian sage or spreading sage, is a species of flowering plant in the sage family Lamiaceae that is native to a wide area of central Mexico. This herbaceous perennial was introduced into horticulture in 1838 and popularized a hundred years later by the Irish gardener and botanist William Robinson (1838-1935).

References

  1. ↑ Allen, D.J. (2014). "Salvia officinalis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2014: e.T203260A2762648. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2014-1.RLTS.T203260A2762648.en . Retrieved 23 January 2024.
  2. 1 2 Clebsch, Betsy; Carol D. Barner (2003). The New Book of Salvias. Timber Press. p. 216. ISBN   978-0-88192-560-9.
  3. 1 2 3 Harrison, Lorraine (2012). RHS Latin for gardeners. United Kingdom: Mitchell Beazley. p. 224. ISBN   9781845337315.
  4. ↑ Stearn, William T. (2004). Botanical Latin. Timber Press (OR). p. 456. ISBN   978-0-88192-627-9.
  5. ↑ Sutton, John (2004). The Gardener's Guide to Growing Salvias. Workman Publishing Company. p. 17. ISBN   978-0-88192-671-2.
  6. ↑ "RHS Plant Selector - Salvia officinalis 'Icterina'" . Retrieved 5 March 2021.
  7. ↑ "RHS Plant Selector - Salvia officinalis 'Purpurascens'" . Retrieved 5 March 2021.
  8. ↑ "AGM Plants - Ornamental" (PDF). Royal Horticultural Society. July 2017. p. 94. Retrieved 12 October 2018.
  9. ↑ Greer, John Michael (2017). The Encyclopedia of Natural Magic (First ed.). Woodbury, MN: Llewellyn Publications. p. 185. ISBN   9780738706740.
  10. ↑ Watters, L. L. (1901). An Analytical Investigation of Garden Sage (Salvia officinalis, Linne). New York: Columbia University.
  11. 1 2 3 Kintzios, Spiridon E. (2000). Sage: The Genus Salvia. CRC Press. pp. 10–11. ISBN   978-90-5823-005-8.
  12. ↑ An Anglo-Saxon manuscript read "Why should man die when he has sage?" Kintzios, p. 10
  13. ↑ "Le Menagier de Paris". Translated by Hinson, Janet. 1393.
  14. ↑ Grieve, Maud (1971). A Modern Herbal: The Medicinal, Culinary, Cosmetic and Economic Properties, Cultivation and Folk-lore of Herbs, Grasses, Fungi, Shrubs, & Trees with All Their Modern Scientific Uses, Volume 2.
  15. ↑ Markham, Gervase (1615). The English House-wife.
  16. ↑ Le Viandier de Taillevent: 14th Century Cookery, Based on the Vatican Library Manuscript. Translated by Prescott, James. Eugene, Oregon: Alfarhaugr Publishing Society. 1989. p. 27. ISBN   978-0-9623719-0-5. Archived from the original on 2021-03-02. Retrieved 2018-03-12.
  17. ↑ Miroddi M, Navarra M, Quattropani MC, Calapai F, Gangemi S, Calapai G (2014). "Systematic review of clinical trials assessing pharmacological properties of Salvia species on memory, cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease". CNS Neurosci Ther. 20 (6): 485–95. doi:10.1111/cns.12270. PMC   6493168 . PMID   24836739.
  18. 1 2 Lopresti AL (2017). "Salvia (Sage): A Review of its Potential Cognitive-Enhancing and Protective Effects". Drugs in R&D. 17 (1): 53–64. doi:10.1007/s40268-016-0157-5. PMC   5318325 . PMID   27888449.
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