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Salvia fruticosa

Common name:	Greek Sage	Family:	Labiatae
Author:	Mill.	Botanical references:	50, 200
Synonyms:	Salvia triloba (L.f.)
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	Europe - C. and E. Mediterranean.
Habitat:	Dry rocky hillsides[148].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	2	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	3

Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Greek Sage [H], Spanish Sage Oil [H],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	fruticosa = shrubby;
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Lamiales. Renamed to Lamiaceae -- Mint family

Physical Characteristics

An evergreen shrub growing to 1m by 1m . It is hardy to zone 9. It is in leaf all year. The scented flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Bees. It is noted for attracting wildlife. We rate it 2/5 for edibility and 3/5 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

By Walls, By South Wall, By West Wall.

Edible Uses

Condiment; Seed; Tea.

The leaves are used as a spice or as an adulterant of sage (S. officinalis)[183]. Somewhat inferior in quality to sage but it is easier to grow indoors[183]. The leaves make up 50 - 95% of commercially dried sage leaves[238].
A fragrant tea, called 'fascomiglia' is made by infusing the leaves[148, 200].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Antihydrotic; Antiseptic; Antispasmodic; Astringent; Carminative; Cholagogue; Depurative; Expectorant; Febrifuge; Stimulant; Tonic; Vasodilator.

The leaves are antihydrotic, antiseptic, antispasmodic, astringent, carminative, cholagogue, depurative, expectorant, febrifuge, stimulant, tonic and vasodilator[4, 9, 13, 21, 165, 238]. They are used internally in the treatment of digestive and respiratory complaints, menstrual problems, infertility, nervous tension and depression[238]. This remedy should not be prescribed to pregnant women[238]. The leaves can be harvested as required and used fresh, or they can be harvested before the flowers open and dried or distilled for their essential oil[238].

Other Uses

Essential.

An essential oil obtained from the leaves is used to adulterate spike lavender oil (obtained from Lavandula latifolia)[238].

Cultivation details

Requires a very well-drained light sandy soil in a sunny position[200]. Prefers a rich soil[1]. Soils rich in nitrogen encourage excessive leaf growth at the expense of flowering[11].
Plants are not very hardy outdoors in Britain, though they should succeed outdoors in the mildest areas of the country, but perhaps even there needing the protection of a south-facing wall. Plants can be killed by excessive winter wet[200].
The flowers are very attractive to bees, providing a good source of nectar[148].
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].

Scent

Leaves:: No details on scent.

Suppliers

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

Web References

Details of Medicinal Uses, Habitats, etc. in M. Grieve A Modern Herbal (1931) [4]
[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for Salvia triloba (a possible synonym).

[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[PHARM] Phytochemical Data (common names, uses, countries) from Dr Duke's Phytochemical Database.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

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

References

[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]).

[4] Grieve. A Modern Herbal. Penguin 1984 ISBN 0-14-046-440-9
Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.

[9] Launert. E. Edible and Medicinal Plants. Hamlyn 1981 ISBN 0-600-37216-2
Covers plants in Europe. a drawing of each plant, quite a bit of interesting information.

[11] Bean. W. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. Murray 1981
A classic with a wealth of information on the plants, but poor on pictures.

[13] Triska. Dr. Hamlyn Encyclopaedia of Plants. Hamlyn 1975 ISBN 0-600-33545-3
Very interesting reading, giving some details of plant uses and quite a lot of folk-lore.

[21] Lust. J. The Herb Book. Bantam books 1983 ISBN 0-553-23827-2
Lots of information tightly crammed into a fairly small book.

[50] ? Flora Europaea Cambridge University Press 1964
An immense work in 6 volumes (including the index). The standard reference flora for europe, it is very terse though and with very little extra information. Not for the casual reader.

[148] Niebuhr. A. D. Herbs of Greece. Herb Society of America. 1970
A pleasant little book about Greek herbs.

[165] Mills. S. Y. The Dictionary of Modern Herbalism.
An excellent small herbal.

[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.

[238] Bown. D. Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, London. 1995 ISBN 0-7513-020-31
A very well presented and informative book on herbs from around the globe. Plenty in it for both the casual reader and the serious student. Just one main quibble is the silly way of having two separate entries for each plant.

[245] Genders. R. Scented Flora of the World. Robert Hale. London. 1994 ISBN 0-7090-5440-8
An excellent, comprehensive book on scented plants giving a few other plant uses and brief cultivation details. There are no illustrations.

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Bibliography

Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
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We make no claims of magical effects or supernatural powers for any item in this catalog. In spite of legendary attributes or occult and craft tradition, such items are offered as curios only and beliefs concerning their magical effectiveness are related only for historical interest.