Types of Sage Plants

Two Main Categories of Sage

• A sage plant or salvia is typically classified as either an ornamental plant or an herb. Though sage and salvia are technically interchangeable terms, gardeners tend to use "sage" when the plant is intended for consumption and "salvia" for the strictly ornamental plant.

Common Garden Sage

• Salvia officinalis L. is preferred for cooking. Dalmation sage is a type of Salvia officinalis L. that is said to have the finest sage aroma.

Sage in Chinese Herbal Medicine

• Those who practice herbal medicine may prescribe Salvia miltiorrhiza L. to treat menstrual irregularities, abdominal pain, insomnia, uterine bleeding, hives, mastitis and hepatitis.

Sage Folk Remedies

• A wild sage plant native to the eastern U.S., Salvia lyrata L. has been used to treat warts. Salvia tomentosa Mill., which comes from the Mediterranean region, is thought to heal warts and reduce abdominal pain.

Sacred Sage

• Yerba de Maria, or Salvia divinorum, is a hallucinogenic sage plant that is used in some religious ceremonies in Central America.