Salvia

salvia: see sage.

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salvia

Any of about 700 species of herbaceous and woody plants that make up the genus Salvia, in the mint family. Some members (e.g., sage) are important as sources of flavouring. Easy to propagate, transplant, and grow in poor soil and drought conditions, salvias are a garden staple. Best-known is the 1–3-ft (30–90-cm) annual scarlet sage (S. splendens) from Brazil, whose blazing spikes contrast with dark green, oval leaves from midsummer to frost. Blue sage (S. farinacea), of southwestern North America, is a favourite in dried winter bouquets.

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salvia

any herbaceous plant or small shrub of the genus Salvia, such as the sage, grown for their medicinal or culinary properties or for ornament: family Lamiaceae (labiates)

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salvia [′sal·vē·ə]

(materials)

The dried leaves of the sage,Salvia officinalis;contains volatile oil, resin, and tannin; used in food engineering as a flavoring agent and condiment, and in medicine as an antisecretory agent.

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Salvia 

(sage), a genus of perennial herbs or subshrubs of the family Labiatae. The flowers are in false whorls, which form a spicate or panicled inflorescence. The upper lip of the corolla is helmet-shaped, straight, or crescent-shaped. There are two stamens. The flowers have a unique adaptation for cross-pollination. The fruit consists of four nutlets.

The approximately 700 species occur throughout the world, primarily in the subtropics and tropics. The USSR has about 80 species, growing mainly on dry mountain slopes. The most common species is garden sage (S. officinalis), a usually violet-flowered subshrub that grows in the Mediterranean region. In the USSR it is cultivated for medicinal and culinary purposes in Moldavia, the southern Ukraine, and Krasnodar Krai. The leaves contain essential oil, alkaloids, and tanning substances; they are used as a flavoring in the production of liqueurs and spirits and in the fish canning industry. A tincture of leaves is used medicinally as an astringent or anti-inflammatory rinse to treat inflammations of the mouth, pharynx, and larynx. Clary (S. sclarea), a perennial with pinkish lilac flowers, grows in the southern Ukraine, the Crimea, the Caucasus, and Middle Asia. It is cultivated for the essential oil contained in the inflorescences; the oil is used by the pharmaceutical, distilling, confectionery, and tobacco industries. Many species, including scarlet sage (S. splendens), S. coccinea, and garden sage, are cultivated as ornamentals.

REFERENCES

Pobedimova, E. G. “Rod Shalfei-Salvia L.” In Flora SSSR, vol. 21. Moscow-Leningrad, 1954.
Atlas lekarstvennykh rastenii SSSR. Moscow, 1962.

T. V. EGOROVA