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Salvia apiana

Common name:	White Sage	Family:	Labiatae
Author:	Jeps.	Botanical references:	71, 200
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	South-western N. America - California.
Habitat:	Dry benches and slopes below 1500 metres[71].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	3	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	1

Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	California White Sage [B], Sage, White [S], Salvarial [S], White Sage [S,P],
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Lamiales. Renamed to Lamiaceae -- Mint family

Physical Characteristics

Perennial growing to 3m. It is hardy to zone 8. It is in flower from April to July. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Bees. It is noted for attracting wildlife. We rate it 3/5 for edibility and 1/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy) and medium (loamy) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires dry or moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Cultivated Beds, By Walls, By South Wall, By West Wall.

Edible Uses

Condiment Drink Seed Stem.

Seed - raw or cooked. It can be ground into a powder and used as a mush[177, 257]. The seed has been mixed with cereals such as oats or wheat, toasted then ground into a fine powder and eaten dry[257]. The seed can also be soaked overnight and used as a drink in water or fruit juice or eaten with cereals[61, 183]. The seed is also used as a spice[105].
The leaves are used in cooking[183]. They can be used as a flavouring in seed mushes[257].
Stem tops[105, 177]. The young stalks can be eaten raw[257]. Ripe stem tops can be peeled and eaten raw[257].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Blood tonic Ophthalmic.

An infusion of the leaves is used as a blood tonic and as a treatment for coughs and colds[257]. The leaves can be eaten, or used as a sweat bath, in the treatment of colds[257].
The seeds have been used as eye cleaners[257]. No more information is given here, but in other instances the seed has been placed in the eye, it then forms a gelatinous covering to which any foreign matter in the eye adheres. The seed is washed out of the eye by the eyes own tears[K].

Other Uses

Hair Incense.

The leaves have been crushed in water and used as a hair shampoo, dye and hair straightener[257].
A poultice of the freshly crushed leaves can be applied to the armpits to treat body odours[257].
The leaves have been burnt as an incense to fumigate a house after a case of contagious disease such as measles[257].

Cultivation details

Requires a very well-drained light sandy soil in a sunny position[200]. Prefers a rich soil[1]. Plants grow best in a dry climate and can be killed by excessive winter wet[200, 260].
This species is not hardy in the colder areas of the country, it tolerates temperatures down to between -5 and -10° c[200].
The seed is sold in health food shops for its use in making a drink[183].
A good bee plant[61].
Members of this genus are rarely if ever troubled by browsing deer[233].

Propagation

Seed - sow March/April in a greenhouse[200]. Germination usually takes place within 2 weeks. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and plant them out in early summer. In areas where the plant is towards the limits of its hardiness, it is best to grow the plants on in a greenhouse for their first winter and plant them out in late spring of the following year.
Cuttings of half-ripe wood succeed at almost any time in the growing season[200].

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[S] Image from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
[S] Image from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
[S] Image from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
[S] Image from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
[S] Image from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
[S] SW USA Dist. Maps from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
[S] Illustration from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
[S] Illustration from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[C] Taxon data. from the CalFlora database.
Images from the CalPhoto database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for salvia apiana (a possible synonym).

[HP] PhotoFrom Henriette's plant pictures
[HP] PhotoFrom Henriette's plant pictures
[HP] PhotoFrom Henriette's plant pictures
[HP] PhotoFrom Henriette's plant pictures
[HP] PhotoFrom Henriette's plant pictures

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[61] Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable 1974 ISBN 0094579202
Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.

[71] Munz. A California Flora. University of California Press 1959
An excellent flora but no pictures. Not for the casual reader.

[105] Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing 1976
The most comprehensive guide to edible plants I've come across. Only the briefest entry for each species, though, and some of the entries are more than a little dubious. Not for the casual reader.

[177] Kunkel. G. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books 1984 ISBN 3874292169
An excellent book for the dedicated. A comprehensive listing of latin names with a brief list of edible parts.

[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[233] Thomas. G. S. Perennial Garden Plants J. M. Dent & Sons, London. 1990 ISBN 0 460 86048 8
A concise guide to a wide range of perennials. Lots of cultivation guides, very little on plant uses.

[257] Moerman. D. Native American Ethnobotany Timber Press. Oregon. 1998 ISBN 0-88192-453-9
Very comprehensive but terse guide to the native uses of plants. Excellent bibliography, fully referenced to each plant, giving a pathway to further information. Not for the casual reader.

[260] Phillips. R. & Rix. M. Conservatory and Indoor Plants Volumes 1 & 2 Pan Books, London. 1998 ISBN 0-330-37376-5
Excellent photos of over 1,100 species and cultivars with habits and cultivation details plus a few plant uses. Many species are too tender for outdoors in Britain though there are many that can be grown outside.

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
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