Salvia fruticosa | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Asterids |
Order: | Lamiales |
Family: | Lamiaceae |
Genus: | Salvia |
Species: | S. fruticosa |
Binomial name | |
Salvia fruticosa | |
Synonyms | |
Salvia libanoticaBoiss. & Gaill. Contents |
Salvia fruticosa, [1] or Greek sage, is a perennial herb or sub-shrub [2] native to the eastern Mediterranean, including Southern Italy, the Canary Islands and North Africa. It is especially abundant in Palestine, Israel [3] and Lebanon.
Greek sage grows 2 ft (0.61 m) high and wide, with the flower stalks rising 1 ft (0.30 m) or more above the foliage. The entire plant is covered with hairs, with numerous leaves of various sizes growing in clusters, giving it a silvery and bushy appearance. The flowers are pinkish-lavender, about .5 in (1.3 cm) long, growing in whorls along the inflorescence, and held in a small oxblood-red five-pointed hairy calyx. In its native environment it grows as part of the Maquis shrubland and several other open plant communities, but populations composed entirely of Salvia fruticosa are not uncommon. [3]
It is also grown as an ornamental flowering shrub, preferring full sun, well-draining soil, and good air circulation. Hardy to 20 degrees F., it is very drought resistant. The leaves have a high oil content, with some of the same chemicals as lavender. [3]
Due its wide variation in leaf shape, there has been a great deal of taxonomic confusion over the years, with many of the leaf variations of Salvia fruticosa being named as distinct species. These include S. libanotica, S. triloba, S. lobryana, and S. cypria, which are now considered to be Salvia fruticosa. [4] [5] The variation in leaf depends on geographical area, with plants growing on the western part of Crete having entire leaves with flat blade and margins and dark green upper sides. Plants growing on the eastern side of the island have much smaller leaves, with deeply three-lobed yellowish-green blade and undulate margins. The variation continues throughout different parts of Greece. [6]
Adding to the confusion over the name, the plant has also been called Salvia triloba, as named by Carl Linnaeus the Younger in 1781, until it was discovered that it was the same as the plant named by Philip Miller in 1768, with the earlier name receiving preference according to plant naming conventions. [3] Local names include sage apple, Khokh barri, and Na’ama Hobeiq’es-sedr.
It has a long tradition of use in Greece, where it is valued for its beauty, medicinal value, and culinary use, along with its sweet nectar and pollen. Salvia fruticosa was depicted in a Minoan fresco circa 1400 BCE at Knossos on the island of Crete. [3] The ancient Phoenicians and Greeks likely introduced the plant for cultivation to the Iberian peninsula, with remnant populations of these introduced plants still found in some coastal areas. [6] Greek sage accounts for 50–95% of the dried sage sold in North America, [7] [8] and is grown commercially for its essential oil. [9] It also has a long tradition of use in various Muslim rituals—for newborn children, at weddings, in funerals, and burnt as incense. [10] A cross between S. fruticosa and Salvia officinalis developed in the middle east is called "silver leaf sage" or Salvia" Newe Ya'ar'", and is used in cooking. [11] [12]
In its native habitat, it frequently develops woolly galls about 1 inch in diameter which are called 'apples'. These 'apples' are peeled and eaten when they are soft, and are described as being fragrant, juicy, and tasty. [3] The formation of galls was originally thought to be limited to Salvia pomifera, [13] which led to the misidentification of many gall-bearing Salvia fruticosa plants. [14] In 2001 it was discovered that the galls on Salvia fruticosa were caused by a previously undiscovered genus of Cynipid gall wasp. [15]
Lavandula is a genus of 47 known species of flowering plants in the mint family, Lamiaceae. It is native to the Old World and is found in Cape Verde and the Canary Islands, and from Europe across to northern and eastern Africa, the Mediterranean, southwest Asia to India.
Salvia rosmarinus, commonly known as rosemary, is a shrub with fragrant, evergreen, needle-like leaves and white, pink, purple, or blue flowers, native to the Mediterranean region. Until 2017, it was known by the scientific name Rosmarinus officinalis, now a synonym.
Galls or cecidia are a kind of swelling growth on the external tissues of plants. Plant galls are abnormal outgrowths of plant tissues, similar to benign tumors or warts in animals. They can be caused by various parasites, from viruses, fungi and bacteria, to other plants, insects and mites. Plant galls are often highly organized structures so that the cause of the gall can often be determined without the actual agent being identified. This applies particularly to insect and mite plant galls. The study of plant galls is known as cecidology.
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.
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.
Salvia elegans, a species with several varieties including pineapple sage and tangerine sage, is a perennial shrub native to Mexico. It inhabits Madrean and Mesoamerican pine-oak forests between 6,000 and 9,000 ft.
Stachys is a genus of plants, one of the largest in the mint family Lamiaceae. Estimates of the number of species vary from about 300, to about 450. Stachys is in the subfamily Lamioideae and its type species is Stachys sylvatica. The precise extent of the genus and its relationship to other genera in the subfamily are poorly known.
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.
Salvia mellifera is a small, highly aromatic, evergreen shrub of the genus Salvia native to California, and Baja California, Mexico. It is common in the coastal sage scrub of Southern California and northern Baja California. Black sage has a dark appearance, especially during drought.
Salvia sonomensis is a low-growing perennial plant that is endemic to California.
Salvia lyrata, is a herbaceous perennial in the family Lamiaceae that is native to the United States, from Connecticut west to Missouri, and in the south from Florida west to Texas. It was described and named by Carl Linnaeus in 1753.
Sage oils are essential oils that come in several varieties:
Salvia divinorum is a plant species with transient psychoactive properties when its leaves, or extracts made from the leaves, are administered by smoking, chewing, or drinking. The leaves contain the potent compound salvinorin A and can induce a dissociative state and hallucinations.
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".
Salvia carduacea, the thistle sage, is an annual herb native to California and Baja California, found up to 1400 m elevation. It responds drastically to its environment, growing anywhere from 15 cm to 1 m in height. The wooly white basal leaves resemble a thistle's, with long spines, while the flowers grow in whorls on calyces that are wooly and spiny. The flowers are a vibrant lavender with bright orange anthers. The foliage is pungent, with a scent similar to citronella.
Salvia brandegeei is a perennial evergreen shrub in the mint family known by the common names Santa Rosa Island sage or Brandegee's sage. It is a fragrant plant characterized by lavender flowers and dark green leaves. For many years, it was thought to be native only to Santa Rosa Island, one of the Channel Islands of California, until it was discovered along the coast of Baja California. It is threatened by development and mining along the mainland portions of its range, but otherwise has a stable population on Santa Rosa Island.
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.
In general use, herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables and other plants consumed for macronutrients, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicinal purposes, or for fragrances. Culinary use typically distinguishes herbs from spices. Herbs generally refers to the leafy green or flowering parts of a plant, while spices are usually dried and produced from other parts of the plant, including seeds, bark, roots and fruits.
The history of spices reach back thousands of years, dating back to the 8th century B.C. Spices are widely known to be developed and discovered in Asian civilizations. Spices have been used in a variety of antique developments for their unique qualities. There were a variety of spices that were used for common purposes across the ancient world. Different spices hold a value that can create a variety of products designed to enhance or suppress certain taste and/or sensations. Spices were also associated with certain rituals to perpetuate a superstition or fulfill a religious obligation, among other things.