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Teucrium scorodonia

Common name:	Wood Sage	Family:	Labiatae
Author:	L.	Botanical references:	17, 200
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	W. Europe, including Britain, from Norway south and east to Portugal, Italy, Croatia and Germany.
Habitat:	Dry, not strongly calcareous, soils in woodlands, grassland, heaths and dunes[4, 17]. Also found on lime-free moorland soils[200].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	1	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	2

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	T. scordonia[E]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Ambroise [H], Camedris [E], Camendrio Selvatico [E], Escorodonia [E], Gamander [E], Garlic Sage [E,H], Germander Sage [L], Germandree Sauvage [E], Hind Heal [H], Large-leaved Germander [H], Mountain Sage [E,H], Sadje Di Bwes [E], Sage-Leaved Germander [E], Sage-leaved Germander [H], Salva Bastarda [E], Valse Salie [D], Waldgamander [E], Wild Sage [H], Wilde Salie [E], Wood Germander [H,E], Wood Sage [E,H,L], Woodland Germander [B,P],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	teucrium = like Teucrium
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Lamiales. Renamed to Lamiaceae -- Mint family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	Belgium Britain France France Germany Italy Netherlands Portugal Spain Us

Physical Characteristics

Perennial growing to 0.3m by 0.5m . It is hardy to zone 6 and is not frost tender. It is in flower from July to September, and the seeds ripen from August to September. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Bees. The plant is self-fertile. We rate it 1/5 for edibility and 2/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires dry or moist soil and can tolerate drought.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Woodland, Sunny Edge, Dappled Shade, Shady Edge.

Edible Uses

Condiment.

The plant resembles hops in taste and flavour[4]. An infusion of the leaves and flowers is used as a hop substitute for flavouring beer in some areas[2, 4, 183]. It is said to clear the beer more quickly than hops, but imparts too much colour to the brew[4].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Alterative Appetizer Astringent Carminative Diaphoretic Diuretic Emmenagogue Skin Tonic Vulnerary.

The herb is alterative, astringent, carminative, diaphoretic, diuretic, emmenagogue, tonic and vulnerary[4, 61, 165]. It is harvested in July and can be dried for later use[4]. The herb is often used in domestic herbal practice in the treatment of skin afflictions, diseases of the blood, fevers, colds etc[4]. It is an appetizer of the first order and is equal to gentian root as a tonic[4].

Other Uses

None known

Cultivation details

An easily grown plant, succeeding in any moderately good soil and almost any situation[1, 4]. Once established, this is a drought resistant plant, succeeding in dry shade[190].

Propagation

Seed - sow spring in a cold frame and only just cover the seed[113]. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and plant them out in the summer if they are large enough. Otherwise, grow them on in a cold frame for the winter and plant them out in the following spring.
Division in early spring[1]. Larger divisions can be planted out direct into their permanent positions. We have found that it is best to pot up smaller divisions and grow them on in light shade in a greenhouse or cold frame until they are growing away well. Plant them out in the summer or the following spring.
Cuttings of half-ripe wood, July/August in a frame[113].

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
[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[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.
[PHARM] Phytochemical Data (common names, uses, countries) from Dr Duke's Phytochemical Database.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for Teucrium scordonia (a possible synonym).

[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany 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]).

[2] Hedrick. U. P. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications 1972 ISBN 0-486-20459-6
Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.

[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.

[17] Clapham, Tootin and Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press 1962
A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures.

[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.

[113] Dirr. M. A. and Heuser. M. W. The Reference Manual of Woody Plant Propagation. Athens Ga. Varsity Press 1987 ISBN 0942375009
A very detailed book on propagating trees. Not for the casual reader.

[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.

[190] Chatto. B. The Dry Garden. Dent 1982 ISBN 0460045512
A good list of drought resistant plants with details on how to grow them.

[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.

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
Blagdon Cross, Ashwater, Beaworthy, Devon, EX21 5DF, UK.
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