Salvia pratensis

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Salvia pratensis
Salvia pratensis LC0340.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. pratensis
Binomial name
Salvia pratensis
L.
Rose colored form. Salviarosefrom.jpg
Rose colored form.
Flower close-up Salvia pratensis 006.jpg
Flower close-up

Salvia pratensis, the meadow clary [1] 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.

Contents

Description

This herbaceous perennial forms a basal clump 1 to 1.5 m (3.3 to 4.9 ft) tall, with rich green rugose leaves that are slightly ruffled and toothed on the edges. The stems have four edges and are clad in glandular and soft hairs. The leaves are arranged in opposite pairs, with those on the lower part of the stem up to 15 cm (6 in) long, decreasing in size higher up the stem. The flower stalks are typically branched, with four to six flowers in each verticil forming a lax spike. The flowers may grow up to 2.5 cm (1 in) and open starting from the base of the inflorescence, which grows up to 30.5 cm (12 in) long. The small calyx is dark brown. The corolla is irregular, 20 to 30 mm (0.8 to 1.2 in) long, fused with two lips and long-tubed. The upper lip arches in a crescent shape and the lower lip is three-lobed with the central lobe larger than the lateral lobes. In the wild the corolla is usually bluish-violet. In cultivation, the flowers have a wide variety of colors, from rich violet and violet-blue to bluish white, and from pink to pure white. There are two long stamens protected by the upper corolla lip and the fruit is a four-chambered schizocarp. [2] [3]

Distribution and habitat

Salvia pratensis is native to Europe, western Asia and northern Africa where it grows in meadows, fields, banks and rough places. [3] It has become naturalized in many parts of the United States, and is considered a noxious weed in the state of Washington. [4] [5] At one time it was banned from California because it was thought to have naturalized in three locations.

Cultivation

Salvia pratensis is hardy in the severest European climates, down to −40 °C (−40 °F). [6] It is widely grown in horticulture, especially Salvia pratensis subsp. haematodes, [7] which is prized by flower arrangers as a cut flower. Some botanists consider it a separate species, S. haematodes. [2]

Named cultivars include:-

AGM cultivars

The cultivar group Haematodes, [8] and the cultivar 'Indigo' with violet blue flowers, have both gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. [9] [10]

Uses

The name of the plant 'clary' is derived from 'clear-eye' and the plant seeds were formerly used as a paste to remove particles from the eyes and to reduce inflammation or redness. It was also used as a gargle for sore throats, and to clean teeth. It has also been used as a flavouring for beers and wines. [11]

Related Research Articles

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

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.

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

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

<i>Hibiscus syriacus</i> Species of flowering plant

Hibiscus syriacus is a species of flowering plant in the mallow family, Malvaceae. It is native to south-central and southeast China, but widely introduced elsewhere, including much of Asia, both in the east and the west. It was given the epithet syriacus because it had been collected from gardens in Syria. Common names include the rose of Sharon,, Syrian ketmia, shrub althea, and rose mallow. It is the national flower of South Korea and is mentioned in the South Korean national anthem.

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

Salvia spathacea, the California hummingbird sage or pitcher sage, is a species of flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae, native to southern and central California growing from sea level to 610 m (2,001 ft). This fruity scented sage blooms in March to May with typically dark rose-lilac colored flowers. It is cultivated in gardens for its attractive flowering spikes and pleasant scent.

<i>Salvia hians</i> Species of plant

Salvia hians is a mound-forming perennial, native to the Himalayas from Pakistan to Bhutan. It is common in Kashmir, growing at elevations from 2,400 to 4,000 m on open slopes and forests. The plant was described in 1830 by John Forbes Royle, a British botanist living in India who studied the medicinal properties of Himalayan plants.

<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>Ajuga reptans</i> Species of flowering plant

Ajuga reptans is commonly known as bugle, blue bugle, bugleherb, bugleweed, carpetweed, carpet bugleweed, and common bugle, and traditionally however less commonly as St. Lawrence plant. It is an herbaceous flowering plant in the mint family Lamiaceae, native to Europe. It is invasive in parts of North America. It is also a component of purple moor grass and rush pastures, a Biodiversity Action Plan habitat in the United Kingdom.

<i>Baptisia australis</i> Species of legume

Baptisia australis, commonly known as blue wild indigo or blue false indigo, is a flowering plant in the family Fabaceae (legumes). It is a perennial herb native to much of central and eastern North America and is particularly common in the Midwest, but it has also been introduced well beyond its natural range. Naturally it can be found growing wild at the borders of woods, along streams or in open meadows. It often has difficulty seeding itself in its native areas due to parasitic weevils that enter the seed pods, making the number of viable seeds very low. The plant has low toxicity levels for humans.

<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.

<i>Lobelia erinus</i> Species of flowering plant

Lobelia erinus is a species of flowering plant in the bellflower family Campanulaceae, native to southern Africa.

<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>Ipheion uniflorum</i> Species of flowering plant

Ipheion uniflorum is a species of flowering plant, related to the onions, placed in the allium subfamily (Allioideae) of the Amaryllidaceae. It is known by the common name springstar, or spring starflower. Along with all the species of the genus Ipheion, some sources place it in the genus Tristagma, but research published in 2010 suggested that this is not correct. It is native to Argentina and Uruguay, but is widely cultivated as an ornamental and reportedly naturalized in Great Britain, France, Australia, New Zealand and the United States.

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

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

Salvia is the largest genus of plants in the sage family Lamiaceae, with nearly 1000 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 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 merjamie</i> Species of flowering plant

Salvia merjamie is a herbaceous perennial plant that is native to the east African highlands from Ethiopia to Tanzania, and also across the Red Sea in Yemen. It grows between 6,000 and 13,000 feet elevation in grasslands, forest edges, rocky outcrops, basalt slopes, and fallow fields. The specific epithet merjamie is derived from meryamiye, the Arabian common name for the plant, which is shared with other local Salvia species such as Salvia lanigera. The Maasai common name for S. merjamie is Naingungundeu, meaning that the plant smells of rats, though the variety that is common in horticulture is named 'Mint Sauce' and is described as having a strong minty aroma. S. merjamie shares a similar distribution with Salvia nilotica, though they are not known to hybridize.

<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).

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

The plant known as Salvia uliginosa, the bog sage, is a species of flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae, native to southern Brazil, Uruguay, and Argentina. It was described and named by botanist George Bentham for its typical habitat "of swamps and marshes", or uliginosa.

<i>Mimulus alatus</i> Species of flowering plant

Mimulus alatus, the sharpwing monkeyflower, is an herbaceous eudicot perennial that has no floral scent. It is native to North America and its blooming season is from June to September. The flowering plant has green foliage and blue to violet flowers. It has a short life span compared to most other plants and a rapid growth rate. Like other monkey-flowers of the genus Mimulus, M. alatus grows best in wet to moist conditions and has a bilabiate corolla, meaning it is two-lipped. The arrangement of the upper and lower lip petals suggests a monkey’s face. The winged stems together with the monkey face give the plant its common name.

References

  1. BSBI List 2007 (xls). Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. Archived from the original (xls) on 2015-06-26. Retrieved 17 October 2014.
  2. 1 2 Clebsch, Betsy; Barner, Carol D. (2003). The New Book of Salvias. Timber Press. p. 226. ISBN   978-0-88192-560-9.
  3. 1 2 "Meadow sage: Salvia pratensis". NatureGate. Retrieved 14 December 2013.
  4. "PLANTS Profile for Salvia pretenses". Plants Profile. United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 26 July 2011.
  5. "Meadow Clary". State of Washington. Archived from the original on 27 September 2011. Retrieved 26 July 2011.
  6. "Salvia pratensis". DarwinPerennials. Retrieved 3 November 2023.
  7. 1 2 Mark Griffiths, Editor. Index of Garden Plants, 2nd American Edition. (Portland, Oregon: Timber Press, 1995. ISBN   0-88192-246-3.)
  8. "Salvia pratensis Haematodes Group". RHS. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
  9. "RHS Plant Selector - Salvia pratensis 'Indigo'" . Retrieved 5 March 2021.
  10. "AGM Plants - Ornamental" (PDF). Royal Horticultural Society. July 2017. p. 95. Retrieved 14 October 2018.
  11. "Meadow clary". Plantlife.org.uk. Retrieved 1 April 2016.

"Salvia pratensis". Plants for a Future .