Salvia officinalis,common sage orsage, is a perennial, evergreensubshrub, with woody stems, grayish leaves, and blue to purplish flowers. It is a member of the mint family (Lamiaceae) and native to theMediterranean 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 andcultivars.
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 colorsage, due to the distinctive color of its leaves.
Salvia officinalis was described byCarl Linnaeus in 1753. It has been grown for centuries in the Old World for its food and healing properties, and was often described in oldherbals for the many miraculous properties attributed to it.[2] The binary name,officinalis, refers to the plant's medicinal use—theofficina 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 thetype species for the genusSalvia.
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]
In favourable conditions in the garden,S. officinalis can grow to a substantial size (1 square metre or more), but a number ofcultivars are more compact. As such they are valued as small ornamental flowering shrubs, rather than for their herbal properties. Some provide lowground 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 easilypropagated from summercuttings, and some cultivars are produced from seeds.
Named cultivars include:
'Alba', a white-flowered cultivar
'Aurea', golden sage
'Berggarten', a cultivar with large leaves, which rarely blooms, extending the useful life of the leaves
'Extrakta', has leaves with higher oil concentrations
'Icterina', a cultivar with yellow-green variegated leaves
'Lavandulaefolia', a small leaved cultivar
'Purpurascens' ('Purpurea'), a purple-leafed cultivar
'Tricolor', a cultivar with white, purple and green variegated leaves
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 calledsphakos, and a similar cultivated plant he calledelelisphakos.Pliny the Elder said the latter plant was calledsalvia by the Romans, and used as adiuretic, alocal anesthetic for the skin, astyptic, and for other uses.Charlemagne recommended the plant for cultivation in the early Middle Ages, and during theCarolingian Empire, it was cultivated in monastery gardens.[10]Walafrid Strabo described it in his poemHortulus as having a sweet scent and being useful for many human ailments—he went back to the Greek root for the name and called itlelifagus.[11]
The plant had a high reputation throughout the Middle Ages, with many sayings referring to its healing properties and value.[12] It was sometimes calledS. salvatrix (sage the savior).Dioscorides, Pliny, andGalen all recommended sage as a diuretic,hemostatic,emmenagogue, andtonic.[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'sHerball (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'sThe English Huswife (1615) gives a recipe for a tooth-powder of sage and salt.[15] It appears in recipes forFour 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]
The top side of a sage leaf –trichomes are visible.A specimen ofSalvia officinalis grown in a flowerpotSage seeds are very small and almost spherical in shape.
In Britain, sage has for generations been listed as one of the essential herbs, along withparsley,rosemary, andthyme (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 andLombard cuisine, probably traceable to its appearance inLe Viandier de Taillevent.[16] It appears in many European cuisines, notably Italian, Balkan and Middle Eastern cookery. InItalian cuisine, it is an essential condiment forsaltimbocca and other dishes, favored with fish. It is also fried to make salvia fritta.[17] In British and American cooking, it is traditionally served as sage and onion stuffing, an accompaniment to roast turkey or chicken at Christmas orThanksgiving Day, and for Sunday roast dinners. Other dishes include porkcasserole,Sage Derby cheese andLincolnshire sausages. It is commonly paired with fall produce such aspumpkin orbutternut squash, and it can be fried or frizzled to create a garnish for dishes. Despite the common use of traditional and available herbs inFrench cuisine, sage never found favor there.[citation needed]
Common sage is grown in parts of Europe for distillation of anessential oil, although other species such asSalvia fruticosa may also be harvested and distilled with it.[citation needed]
As of 2017,S. officinalis was under preliminary research for its possible effects on cognitive performance in both healthy individuals and those withcognitive decline, although its long-term effects remain undetermined.[18][19]
^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.
