Plant · P-587

Common Sage

Salvia officinalis

Common Sage is a small evergreen Mediterranean shrub grown for its leaves and flowers, used fresh or dried as a savory seasoning for rich, oily food and steeped as a digestive tea. It carries a long history of medicinal use for sore throats, excess sweating and menopausal symptoms, but taken in excess or over a long stretch it becomes genuinely toxic - restlessness, tremors and seizures are recorded, so it is avoided in pregnancy. It wants full sun and sharply drained, slightly alkaline ground; wet winter soil rots it faster than cold does. Despite being easy in a mild spring or fall, it often struggles through a long hot, humid summer and is short-lived even under good conditions, typically fading out after about four years.