page_title: Salvia
section_title: Selected species and their uses
hierarchical_section_title: Salvia / Selected species and their uses
caption_attribution_description: English: Salvia farinacea x Salvia longispicata 'Mystic Spires Blue'
context_page_description: Salvia is the largest genus of plants in the mint 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 the widely produced herb used in cooking, Salvia officinalis.
  The genus is distributed throughout the Old World and the Americas, with three distinct regions of diversity: Central and South America; Central Asia and Mediterranean; Eastern Asia.
context_section_description: Many species are used as herbs, as ornamental plants (usually for flower interest), and sometimes for their ornamental and aromatic foliage.  The Plant List has 986 accepted species names. A selection of some well-known species is below.
  Salvia apiana: white sage; sacred to a number of Native American peoples, and used by some tribes in their ceremonies
  Salvia azurea: blue sage
  Salvia buchananii: Buchanan sage; woody-based stoloniferous perennial, deep pink flowers
  Salvia cacaliifolia: blue wine sage or Guatemalan sage; pure gentian-blue flowers
  Salvia candelabrum: candelabrum sage; woody-based perennial, violet flowers
  Salvia divinorum: diviner's sage; sometimes cultivated for psychedelic drug effects; the legality of its use is under review in some US states
  Salvia elegans: pineapple sage; widely grown as an ornamental shrub or sub-shrub, with pineapple scented leaves
  Salvia fruticosa: Greek sage; commonly grown and harvested as an alternative to common sage
  Salvia fulgens: Cardinal sage, Mexican scarlet sage; small evergreen sub-shrub, red flowers
  Salvia guaranitica: hummingbird sage, anise-scented sage; tall perennial, deep blue flowers
  Salvia hispanica: chia; produces edible seeds high in protein and in the omega-3 fatty acid, α-linolenic acid (ALA).
  Salvia involucrata: roseleaf sage; woody-based perennial
  Salvia jurisicii: Ovche Pole sage; a rare, compact "feathery" perennial endemic to North Macedonia, violet flowers
  Salvia leucantha: Mexican bush sage, woolly sage; ornamental evergreen subshrub, white/pink flowers
  Salvia microphylla: baby sage: small ornamental shrub from Mexico, widely cultivated with many cultivars
  Salvia miltiorrhiza: red sage, Danshen; Chinese medicinal herb
  Salvia nemorosa: woodland sage, Balkan clary; perennial with many ornamental varieties and cultivars
  Salvia officinalis: sage, common sage; used widely in cooking, as an ornamental, and in herbal medicine
  Salvia patens: gentian sage; herbaceous perennial, blue flowers
  Salvia pratensis: clary: herbaceous perennial, violet flowers
  Salvia rosmarinus: rosemary; herbaceous perennial, blue flowers
  Salvia sclarea: clary; grown as an ornamental and to some extent for perfume oils
  Salvia spathacea: California hummingbird sage, pitcher sage; ornamental, fruit-scented with rose pink flowers
  Salvia splendens: scarlet sage; popular tender ornamental bedding or pot plant.
  Salvia uliginosa: bog sage; herbaceous perennial, blue flowers
  Salvia species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera (butterfly and moth) species including the bucculatricid leaf-miner Bucculatrix taeniola which feeds exclusively on the genus and the Coleophora case-bearers C. aegyptiacae, C. salviella (both feed exclusively on Salvia. aegyptiaca), C. ornatipennella and C. virgatella (both recorded on Salvia. pratensis).
caption: Salvia farinacea × Salvia longispicata 'Mystic Spires Blue'
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