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Salvia africana
Also called Aromatic Sage, Blue Sage, Purple Sage, Red Sage, Wild Sage, Wild Salvia
African blue sage (Salvia africana) is an aromatic, branching perennial shrub from the coast of South Africa's Cape, growing 60 to 90 cm tall with soft grey-green leaves and pale blue to violet flowers. It thrives in full sun and sharply drained, sandy or gritty soil, and is drought tolerant once established.
Salvia africana is a heavy branched aromatic perennial shrub native to the coast of the Cape Provinces of South Africa, found on coastal dunes and in nearby rocky hills up to 600 m elevation. It grows to 60–90 cm, with round grayish stems covered with hairs that release a strong scent when brushed. The leaves are a soft grey-green, lighter on the underside, and elliptical shaped. The inflorescences reach 30 cm long, with 2-6 flowers in each whorl, ranging from pale blue to pale violet or pink.
The species was originally named by Carl Linnaeus in 1753 as Salvia africana caerulea, but as this name has two specific epithets, it is contrary to Article 23.6(c) of the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants, and has been corrected to Salvia africana. The incorrect form Salvia africana-caerulea will also be found.
Turkish Black Sage · Wuyi Mountain Sage · Salvia adoxoides · Egyptian Sage · Orange Sage · Mediterranean sage · Salvia alatipetiolata · Cederberg Sage · Handsome Sage · Algerian Sage · Salvia amethystina · Santa Catalina Mountain sage
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Salvia africana by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
