Sage is a perennial plant gray-green to whitish in color with wrinkly oval leaves that can grow as high as 2 feet. Sage is lovely to look at because of its flowers that come in different colors (purple, red, white, or pink); these flowers attract pollinators too, including hummingbirds, butterflies, and bees.
The common name for sage varies in different places; some call it common sage while others refer to it as garden sage. They also refer to sage as Dalmatian sage, golden sage, true sage, culinary sage, kitchen sage, and broadleaf sage.
Classification Information:
Kingdom: Plantae
Order: Lamiales
Family: Lamiales
Genus: Salvia
Species: S. officinalis
Binomial Name: Salvia officinalis
Sage Trivia
- Salvia officinalis is Latin for slavere which means to be saved.
- Healers use sage in smudging for blessing and healing purposes, but the timing has to be perfect because the potency of sage wanes or grows depending on the time of the year.
- Despite its name, Texas sage (Leucophyllum frutescens) is not a true sage.
- Practitioners of folk medicine use sage for curing colds, diarrhea, enteritis, venereal disease, excessive perspiration, snake bites, sore throats, toothaches, and cancer.