''Salvia pratensis'', the meadow clary or meadow sage, is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

in the family

Lamiaceae The Lamiaceae ( ) or Labiatae are a family (biology), family of flowering plants commonly known as the mint, deadnettle, or sage family. Many of the plants are aromatic in all parts and include widely used culinary herbs like basil (herb), ba ...

native Native may refer to: People * '' Jus sanguinis'', nationality by blood * '' Jus soli'', nationality by location of birth * Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory ** Nat ...

to Europe, western Asia and northern Africa. The Latin

specific epithet In Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin gramm ...

''pratensis'' means "of meadows", referring to its preferred habitat. It also grows in scrub edges and woodland borders.

Description

This

herbaceous Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition of ...

perennial In horticulture, the term perennial ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the year") is used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. It has thus been defined as a plant that lives more than 2 years. The term is also ...

forms a basal clump tall, with rich green rugose leaves that are slightly ruffled and toothed on the edges. The stems have four edges and are clad in glandular and soft hairs. The leaves are arranged in opposite pairs, with those on the lower part of the stem up to long, decreasing in size higher up the stem. The flower stalks are typically branched, with four to six flowers in each verticil forming a lax spike. The flowers may grow up to and open starting from the base of the

inflorescence In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a mai ...

, which grows up to long. The small calyx is dark brown. The corolla is irregular, long, fused with two lips and long-tubed. The upper lip arches in a crescent shape and the lower lip is three-lobed with the central lobe larger than the lateral lobes. In the wild the corolla is usually bluish-violet. In cultivation, the flowers have a wide variety of colors, from rich violet and violet-blue to bluish white, and from pink to pure white. There are two long stamens protected by the upper corolla lip and the fruit is a four-chambered

schizocarp A schizocarp is a dry fruit that, when mature, splits up into mericarps. There are different definitions: * Any Dry fruits, dry fruit composed of multiple carpels that separate. : Under this definition the mericarps can contain one or more ...

Distribution and habitat

''Salvia pratensis'' is native to Europe, western Asia and northern Africa where it grows in meadows, fields, banks and rough places. It has become naturalized in many parts of the United States, and is considered a noxious weed in the state of Washington. At one time it was banned from California because it was thought to have naturalized in three locations.

Cultivation

''Salvia pratensis'' is hardy in the severest European climates, down to . It is widely grown in horticulture, especially ''Salvia pratensis'' subsp. ''haematodes'',Mark Griffiths, Editor. ''Index of Garden Plants'', 2nd American Edition. (Portland, Oregon: Timber Press, 1995. .) which is prized by flower arrangers as a cut flower. Some botanists consider it a separate species, ''S. haematodes''. Named cultivars include:- * 'Atroviolacea', dark blue to violet * 'Baumgartenii', blue to violet * 'Lupinoides', to , white-flecked blue to purple * 'Mitsommer' ("Midsummer"), sky blue * 'Rosea', rose-pink to purple * 'Rubicunda', rose-red * 'Tenorii', to about tall, blue flowers * 'Variegata', blue and sometimes white-tipped flowers.

AGM cultivars

The cultivar group Haematodes, and the cultivar 'Indigo' with violet blue flowers, have both gained the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr ...

Award of Garden Merit The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions. It includes the full range of cultivated p ...

Uses

The name of the plant 'clary' is derived from 'clear-eye' and the plant seeds were historically ground to a paste and used to clear irritations in the eye. It was also used for

gargling Gargling is the act of bubbling liquid in the mouth. It is also the washing of one's throat with a liquid (with one's head tipped back) that is kept from being swallowed by continuous exhalation. This produces a characteristic gurgling sound. M ...

and as an early form of toothpaste, as well as a flavouring for alcohol.

References

External links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q161772 pratensis Least concern plants Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus