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Common sage

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Plants

                 iCommon sage
   flowers
   flowers
           Scientific classification

   Kingdom:  Plantae
   Division: Magnoliophyta
   Class:    Magnoliopsida
   Order:    Lamiales
   Family:   Lamiaceae
   Genus:    Salvia
   Species:  S. officinalis

                                Binomial name

   Salvia officinalis
   L.

   Common sage (Salvia officinalis) is a small evergreen subshrub, with
   woody stems, grayish leaves, and blue to purplish flowers native to
   southern Europe and the Mediterranean region.

   It is much cultivated as a kitchen and medicinal herb, and is also
   called Garden sage, Kitchen sage, and Dalmatian sage. In southern
   Europe related species are sometimes cultivated for the same purpose,
   and may be confused with the common sage. Although this plant was the
   one originally called by this name sage, a number of related species
   are now also called by it, and are described in more detail in the
   article on sage.

   The uses and benefits ascribed to it are many and varied, and are often
   shared with related species. Uses of common sage include:
     * teas and infusions, which are considered to have a calming effect,
       to soothe a sore throat and as a digestive agent
     * preservative flavourings, for instance of cheese
     * as a cooking flavouring, such as in sage and onion stuffing

   Common sage is also grown in parts of Europe, especially the Balkans
   for distillation of the essential oil, though other species, such as
   Salvia triloba may also be harvested and distilled with it.

   A number of cultivars of the plant exist. The majority of these are
   cultivated more often for ornament than for their herbal properties.
   All these are valuable as small ornamental flowering shrubs, and for
   low ground cover, especially in sunny dry situations. They are easily
   raised from summer cuttings. Named cultivars include
     * "Purpurascens", a purple-leafed cultivar, considered by some to be
       strongest of the garden sages,
     * "Tricolor", a cultivar with white, yellow and green variegated
       leaves,
     * "Berggarten", a cultivar with huge leaves,
     * "Icterina", a cultivar with yellow-green variegated leaves,
     * "Alba", a white-flowered cultivar,
     * "Lavandulaefolia", a small leaved cultivar.

   A medieval saying, sometimes attributed to Martin Luther, is: "Cur
   moriatur homo cui Salvia crescit in horto?" ("Why should a man die
   whilst sage grows in his garden?"). To which Hildegard of Bingen said:
   "Why should a man die whilst sage grows in his garden, if not because
   nothing can stand against death?"

Culinary uses

   Painting from Koehler's Medicinal Plants (1887)
   Enlarge
   Painting from Koehler's Medicinal Plants (1887)

   As an herb, sage is considered to have a slight peppery flavour. In
   Western cooking, it is used for flavouring fatty meats (especially as a
   marinade), cheeses, and some drinks. In Britain and Flanders, sage is
   used with onion for poultry or pork stuffing and also in sauces. In
   French cuisine, sage is used for cooking white meat and in vegetable
   soups. Germans often use it in sausage dishes. Sage is also common in
   Italian cooking. In the Balkans and the Middle East, it is used when
   roasting mutton.

   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_sage"
   This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia
   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
   of authors and sources) and is available under the GNU Free
   Documentation License. See also our Disclaimer.
