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Sage
Salvia officinalis
Lamiaceae
(Common or Broad-leaved Sage)
Description:
Shrubby evergreen perennial, with much branched stems and wrinkled, velvety grey-green leaves. Dislikes damp conditions and low light in winter.
Origin:
Native to the Mediterranean and N Africa, particularly on dry, rocky hillsides.
Cultivated in N Europe since medieval times, introduced to America in the C17th.
Salvia in Latin means ‘cure’, Sage from salvere ‘to be well’.
Contains the camphoraceous oil, thujone at 50% (can cause epileptic fits).
Culinary Uses:
To flavour meat dishes, liver, goose, sausages and stuffings for pork and poultry.
Combines well with fatty foods, breaking them down to aid digestion.
Best used on own instead with other herbs.
Ingredient of Sage Derby Cheese.
Other:
Oil is used as a fixative for perfumes, added to toothpastes and cosmetics (antidandruff).
Romans used it to increase fertility.
Grow with cabbages to repel Large White butterflies.
Used by the English when bargaining for tea with the Chinese.
Hallucinogenic, addictive and toxic in excess.
Sowing to Maturity:
34 - 46 days
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