Common Name:

General Information

Salvia multicaulis is an evergreen perennial plant with stems that can become more or less woody and persist. An erect, but low-growing plant with unbranched stems that form mats of growth around 30cm tall[].
The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a food and a medicine

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

W. Asia - Turkey to Israel and Sinai, east to Iraq and Iran

Habitat

Dry scrub, steppe and rocky limestone slopes to 2600 metres[].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Evergreen Shrub
Height	0.30 m
Pollinators	Bees
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

Salvia multicaulis is not a very cold-hardy plant, being able to tolerate short periods with temperatures falling to around -5 to -8°c when fully dormant, so long as the soil is well-drained[].
Requires a very well-drained fertile sandy soil in a sunny position[]. Soils rich in nitrogen encourage excessive leaf growth at the expense of flowering[]. Plants can be killed by excessive winter wet.
A low-growing plant forming mats[].
Members of this genus are rarely if ever troubled by browsing deer[].

Edible Uses

The plant is used as a condiment for tea or is prepared as a tea in boiling water[].
The aromatic leaves are a good substitute for common sage (Salvia officinalis) in cooking[].

Medicinal

The aerial parts of the plant contain essential oils and are used as an antiseptic and to treat wounds[].

The sssential oil in the leaves and stems has 1,8-cineole, camphor and alpha-pinene as its main constituents[]
The plant has been shown to have antituberculous, antiviral and cytotoxicity activity[].

Other Uses

The aerial parts of the plant contain essential oils and are used to disinfect homes after sickness[].

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[].