Columbia University in the City of New York

Medicinal Herbs

Adult leaves subglabrous above, gray-green, grayish below, the leaf surface uniformly fine-meshed. Flowers bluish-purple in simple or branched inflorescences. Fruit fractional consists of four nutlets (fruitlets). Blooms in June – July. The smell of fragrant plants, taste bitter, spicy and astringent.

There are over 500 species of sage. All of them are ether-maslnchnye, some entered the culture as a medicinal and ornamental. The leaves of sage contains to 2.5% essential oil which is obtained by steam distillation. It is a yellowish liquid with a pungent odor, reminiscent of camphor; up the oil comprises about 15% of cineol, thujone toxic ketone, bitterness, tannins, resin. For medicinal purposes now use the leaves as a tea and broth for rinsing with various diseases of the throat, as an external as poultice and wash. Usually propagated by planting sage seeds in the soil in early spring. Soil fertile choose easy.

Before sowing, the plot make a complete mineral fertilizer and manure. Care sage after emergence is loosening, shelf and thinning plants. Sage can be left on the same site and the crop within 4-5 years. To do this, just need to rejuvenate the overwintered plants, ie, the cut last year's stems. After cutting the plants are fed mineral fertilizers. In the first year of planting the leaves harvested in September, and the next – 2-3 times during the summer. The collected material was dried in attics or under eaves.