Herbaceous perennial with flower spikes to about 60 cm tall. Lower leaves spoonshaped, grading to the upper leaves which are elliptic and densely white-hairy. Flowers to 2 cm or so long, pink to purple. [S. lanata Jacq., S. olympica of various authors].

Sometimes available as the cultivar S. 'Big Ears'.

Naturalised in South Australia.

Turkey, SW Asia

 

 

Occasionally cultivated species include:

S. arvensis (L.) L., Stagger Weed, which is widely naturalised and suspected of causing staggers in livestock but is generally not cultivated;

S. germanica L., Downy Woundwort, from Eurasia and N Africa which is similar to S. byzantina but has leaves that are cordate or abruptly narrowed at the base, not tapered;

S. macrantha (K. Koch) Stearn from W Asia as the cultivars S. 'Nivea' with white flowers, S. 'Rosea' with pink flowers, and S. 'Superba' with darker shaded flowers [S. grandiflora (Willd.) Benth.];

S. officinalis (L.) Trevisan, Betony, from Eurasia, which is a border perennial, sometimes grown as a dwarf variant or with different flower colour forms, its cultivar S. 'Rosea Superba' with pink flowers and corrugated leaves.

Source: Garnett, L.; Ellis, G.; Spencer, R.; Templeton, S. (2002). Salvia. In: Spencer, R.. 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.