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Salvia lavandulifolia

Common name:	Spanish Sage	Family:	Labiatae
Author:	Vahl.	Botanical references:	11, 50, 200
Synonyms:	Salvia hispanorum (Lag.)
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	S.W. Europe - Spain.
Habitat:	Dry hills and slopes amongst bushes.
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.
	Spanish Sage [H],
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Lamiales. Renamed to Lamiaceae -- Mint family

Physical Characteristics

An evergreen shrub growing to 0.3m by 0.5m . It is hardy to zone 5. It is in leaf all year, in flower in July. The scented flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Insects. 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

Woodland, Cultivated Beds, Sunny Edge.

Edible Uses

Condiment Tea.

The aromatic leaves are used as an adulterant for the common sage[177, 183]. They are used as a substitute for sage in commercial food flavourings[238].
A sage-like tea is made from the dried leaves[238].
The plant is a source of an essential oil that is used commercially to flavour ice cream, sweets, baked goods, chewing gum, soft drinks etc[183, 238].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Alterative Antiseptic Astringent Depurative Digestive Expectorant Febrifuge Tonic.

The leaves are alterative, antiseptic, astringent, depurative, digestive, expectorant, febrifuge and tonic[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.

The essential oil obtained from the leaves is used in perfumery and to perfume soaps and cosmetics[238].

Cultivation details

Requires a light well-drained soil in a sunny position[182, 200]. Soils rich in nitrogen encourage excessive leaf growth at the expense of flowering[11].
This species is not hardy in the colder areas of the country, it tolerates temperatures down to between -5 and -10° c[200]. It is as hardy as common sage, S. officinalis[182], to which it is closely related[11]. Plants can be killed by excessive winter wet[200].
The leaves have a pungent lavender scent[182].
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: Crushed: The leaves have a pungent lavander scent.

Suppliers

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

Web References

[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

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

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

References

[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.

[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.

[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.

[182] Thomas. G. S. Ornamental Shrubs, Climbers and Bamboos. Murray 1992 ISBN 0-7195-5043-2
Contains a wide range of plants with a brief description, mainly of their ornamental value but also usually of cultivation details and varieties.

[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.

Readers Comments

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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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