Salvia

views updated Jun 11 2018

Salvia (sages; family Labiatae) A genus of herbs and low shrubs that usually have aromatic foliage and flowers that occur in whorled spikes, often with coloured bracts. The flowers have the corolla strongly 2-lipped, with the upper lip often strongly arched over the 2 stamens. These each have only 1 anther cell developed, on one end of a flexible, see-saw connective on the tip of the filament, making the stamen appear branched, with the anther cell on the tip of the longer ‘branch’. Varieties of S. officinalis are cultivated as pot-herbs, other species for their showy flowers. There are some 900 species, centred in southern Europe and south-western Asia, but occurring widely in tropical and temperate zones.

salvia

views updated Jun 11 2018

salvia genus of plants, including sage. XIX. modL. use of L. salvia, SAGE1.