Salvia carnosa
| Salvia carnosa | |
| Light: |  |
| Moisture: |   |
| Hardiness: | 7 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Evergreen | |
| Height: | 2' |
| Blooms: | Mid Summer-Late Summer |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Salvia carnosa (common name: purple sage)
Propagation: Seed - sow March/April in a greenhouse[1]. 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[1].
Cultivation: Requires a very well-drained light sandy soil in a sunny position[1]. Prefers a rich soil[2]. Soils rich in nitrogen encourage excessive leaf growth at the expense of flowering[3].
Plants can be killed by excessive winter wet[1].
Members of this genus are rarely if ever troubled by browsing deer[4].
Range: South-western N. America.
Habitat: Dry slopes and flats, 1000 - 1500 metres in California[5].
Edibility: Seed - cooked. Ground into a powder and used to thicken soups etc or added to cereal flours when making bread etc[6].
Medicinal: A decoction of the seeds and stems is used to treat colds[7].
A decoction or infusion of the leaves has been used in the treatment of fevers, coughs, colds and stomach aches[8]. A poultice of the crushed leaves has been applied tot he chest to treat congestion[8]. A decoction of the leaves and stems can be drunk, used as a wash or as a steam bath in the treatment of headaches[8].
A decoction of the flowering stems has been used as a poultice and a wash to treat swollen leg veins[8].
The plant is much valued as a treatment for an epileptic or faint person, either administered as a drink or prepared like tobacco and the smoke blown into the patients face[9][8].
Pollinators: Bees
Soil: Can grow in light and medium soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
In Leaf: Evergreen
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Also Known As: S. dorrii carnosa. (Dougl.)Abrams. S. dorrii incana. (Benth.)Strachan.
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ Bean, William. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Murray, 1981.
- ↑ Thomas, Graham. Perennial Garden Plants. J. M. Dent & Sons, 1990.
- ↑ Munz, David. A California Flora. University of California Press, 1959.
- ↑ Tanaka, Tyōzaburō. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing, 1976.
- ↑ Usher, George. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable, 1974.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 Moerman, Daniel. Native American Ethnobotany. Timber Press, 1998.
- ↑ Whiting, Alfred. Ethnobotany of the Hopi. North Arizona Society of Science and Art, 1939.