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Common Name: White Sage

General Information

Salvia apiana is a perennial plant that can grow up to 3.00 metres tall.
It is harvested from the wild for local use as a food, medicine and source of materials.

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

,

Range

South-western N. America - California.

Habitat

Dry benches and slopes below 1500 metres[].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Habit	Perennial
Height	3.00 m
Pollinators	Bees
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

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

Edible Uses

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

Medicinal

An infusion of the leaves is used as a blood tonic and as a treatment for coughs and colds[]. The leaves can be eaten, or used as a sweat bath, in the treatment of colds[].
The seeds have been used as eye cleaners[]. 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[].

Other Uses

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

Propagation

Seed - sow early to mid spring in a greenhouse[]. 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[].