Greek Sage

Appearance

Greek sage grows 2 ft high and wide, with the flower stalks rising 1 ft or more above the foliage. The entire plant is covered with hairs, with numerous leaves of various sizes growing in clusters, giving it a silvery and bushy appearance. The flowers are pinkish-lavender, about.5 in long, growing in whorls along the inflorescence, and held in a small oxblood-red five-pointed hairy calyx. In its native environment it grows as part of the Maquis shrubland and several other open plant communities, but populations composed entirely of "Salvia fruticosa" are not uncommon.

It is also grown as an ornamental flowering shrub, preferring full sun, well-draining soil, and good air circulation. Hardy to 20 degrees F., it is very drought resistant. The leaves have a high oil content, with some of the same chemicals as lavender.

Uses

It has a long tradition of use in Greece, where it is valued for its beauty, medicinal value, and culinary use, along with its sweet nectar and pollen. "Salvia fruticosa" was depicted in a Minoan fresco circa 1400 BCE at Knossos on the island of Crete. The ancient Phoenicians and Greeks likely introduced the plant for cultivation to the Iberian peninsula, with remnant populations of these introduced plants still found in some coastal areas.
Greek sage accounts for 50–95% of the dried sage sold in North America, and is grown commercially for its essential oil....hieroglyph snipped... It also has a long tradition of use in various Muslim rituals—for newborn children, at weddings, in funerals, and burnt as incense. A cross between "S. fruticosa" and "Salvia officinalis" developed in the middle east is called "silver leaf sage" or Salvia" Newe Ya'ar'", and is used in cooking.

In its native habitat, it frequently develops woolly galls about 1 inch in diameter which are called 'apples'. These 'apples' are peeled and eaten when they are soft, and are described as being fragrant, juicy, and tasty. The formation of galls was originally thought to be limited to "Salvia pomifera", which led to the misidentification of many gall-bearing "Salvia fruticosa" plants. In 2001 it was discovered that the galls on "Salvia fruticosa" were caused by a previously undiscovered genus of Cynipid gall wasp.