Salvia africana

Salvia africana, previously S. africana-caerulea and commonly the blue sage, is a strong-growing aromatic shrub of up to 2 m in height. The leaves are pale-green above, hairy below, soft, obovate and sometimes toothed.

The flowers appear in whorls all year round, apart from autumn. The colours vary from blue, to mauve or pink, sometimes with darker spots. The calyx is funnel-shaped, softly silky and enlarges as the fruit develops. The corolla is two-lipped, with the upper one hooded and hairy, the lower one distinctively marked close to the throat. The stamens have a complex structure accommodating visiting insects.

Blue sage is found in the Western Cape from the Cape Peninsula northwards to the Gifberg and eastwards to Montague and Caledon.

The habitat is sandy and sometimes granitic, rocky fynbos slopes and flats, also coastal dunes. The species is not considered threatened in habitat early in the twenty first century. 

Various indigenous population groups have found uses for this and several of the other Salvia plants, both medicinally and as a condiment for flavouring their food (Manning, 2009; Bean and Burman, 1985; iNaturalist; www.plantzafrica.com; http://redlist.sanbi.org).