Salvia

Salvia is a genus in the Lamiaceae or mint family consisting of annual and perennial herbs, as well as shrubs and undershrubs. Hairiness is common and variable upon these plants. The opposite leaves have entire, toothed or lobed margins.

The inflorescences grow at stem-tips, spike-shaped or panicled. The flowers are stalkless, growing in whorls of two or more, spaced up the axis. There are variable bracts and bracteoles present among the flowers. The calyx is two-lipped, as long as the corolla tube and hairy, the hairs sometimes glandular. The upper calyx lip is mostly three-toothed, the middle one longer, while the lower one has two equal teeth, longer than those of the upper lip.

The corolla is also two-lipped, its tube straight or curved. The upper lip of the corolla is usually longer than the lower one, straight or sickle-shaped. The lower lip is three-lobed and usually spreads, the middle lobe biggest.

There are two stamens curving within the upper corolla lip, as well as two inconspicuous staminodes. The style also curves inside the upper corolla lip. It is sometimes exserted, its tip split into two unequal lobes. The fruit is a nutlet, three-angled or compressed.

There are about 900 Salvia species worldwide, occurring in the temperate and tropical regions. Southern Africa has 27 of them, as well as four naturalised species from Europe and tropical America.

Many salvias or sages have become garden plants, while several species feature in traditional medicine. The generic name, Salvia, is derived from the Latin word, salvare, meaning to heal. Hybridisation has made identification of some local species difficult.

The plant in picture is Salvia disermas (Leistner, (Ed.), 2000; Manning, 2009).