Shrubby evergreen perennial herb to about 0.8 m tall, white-hairy. Leaves oblong to elliptic, to about 5 cm long,1.5 cm wide, entire or occasionally with a few lobes, greygreen, wrinkled, very pale below, stalked. Flowers in more or less unbranched clusters in verticillasters of 5-15 flowers. Corolla tube to about 1.5 cm long, white or pink to purple; late spring to summer.
N Africa, Mediterranean
This is culinary sage used in cooking as a seasoning to flavour stews, chicken stuffing etc., as well as in pot-pourri and for making tonic teas.
Tucker et al. (1980).
Purpurascens Group Leaves reddish purple. This group comprises a range of cultivars with slightly different shades of purple, although only one is probably available in Australia (under the name S. 'Purpurascens').
Source: (2002). Salvia. In: . Horticultural Flora of South-eastern Australia. Volume 4. Flowering plants. Dicotyledons. Part 3. The identification of garden and cultivated plants. University of New South Wales Press.
Compact dwarf shrub with golden leaves.
Leaves yellow with white margins. Flowers absent.
Leaves mottled pale bluish green, pink, red and yellow.