Spanish sage
Salvia lavandulifolia
Family · Lamiaceae · Harmless
The wild sage of inland limestone, with a narrow grey leaf like a lavender's, and a strong sage smell with a camphor edge. It is the base of the sage infusion drunk across half of Spain.
Scrubland · Uplands · Walls and rocks
Also known asnarrow-leaved sage
How to tell it
Narrow, whitish-grey, deeply wrinkled leaves with the texture of fine sandpaper. Blue-violet flowers in whorls along a short stem. An unmistakable sage smell when rubbed. Range: mainly a Spanish plant, practically absent from Portugal.
What it is confused with
Rosemary
Salvia rosmarinus
Same genus since rosemary moved into Salvia. Rosemary's leaf is needle-like, stiff and smooth; Spanish sage's is broad, wrinkled and downy. And the smell is clearly different.
What it is for
A traditional infusion and seasoning, and an essential oil used in perfumery. A note that stays on the sheet: like all thujone-rich sages, it is not for sustained consumption or in pregnancy.
Traditionally used as food. This is not permission to eat it.
With documented traditional uses. Not a therapeutic indication and not a dose.
Where it occurs
Each square is an area with recorded observations of this plant. The lighter background is the set of areas where any of the entries has been observed, and serves as a reference. Note what this is not: it is not where the plant lives, it is where people record it, so trails and towns always look fuller than the mountains. Data from GBIF.
Sources
Community
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