Sage: How to Identify and Uses

Sage: Salvia

It is somewhat confusing when discussing sages because the layman's use of the name include some very different (and unrelated plants). Basically, there are two different groups of plants referred to as "Sage".

The first of which is really sage. This group of plants belongs to the greater family of plants called "Laminacea" and the genus of "Salvia". There are many species of this genus including the sage we cook with and the California white sage used for ceremony (but I cook with this one too).

These include:
Salvia apiana - (White sage, California white sage, Grandfather sage)
Salvia melifera - (Black sage)
Salvia officianalis - (cooking sage, Dalmatian sage)

The second group is in the family of "Asteracea" and the genus of "Artemisia". There are many species here too and these make up most of the plants used by native peoples of the Americas for ceremony.

These include:
Artemisia tridentada - (Sagebrush or desert sage)
Artemisia frigida -(Woman sage)
Artemisia Ludoviciana - (South Dakota sage, man sage, Grandfather sage)
Artemisia vulgaris - (Black sage or Mugwort)