Practical
Plants

Salvia carduacea

Thistle Sage

an annual or perennial member of the Salvia genus in the family Labiatae.

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Taxonomy and growth

Family
Labiatae
Genus
Salvia
Life cycle
annual, perennial
Height
0.65 m
Fertility
Bees
Flower type
hermaphrodite
Pollinators
Bees

Uses

Edible uses

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

Seed - raw or cooked. It can be roasted, then ground into a powder and used with other seeds as a mush[2][3][4][7]. The seeds can be added to wheat to improve the flavour[7]. It can also be used as a cooling beverage[2][3][4].

Product or use
Drink
Plant part
Seed

Environment

Range
South-western N. America - California.
Habitat
Sandy and gravelly places below 1350 metres[9]. Open grassy places[8].
Light
full sun
Shade tolerance
no shade
Water
moderate
Hardiness
Zone 8+
Soil textures
sandy, loamy
Soil pH
acid, neutral, alkaline
Drainage
well drained
Tolerates Nutritionally Poor Soil
No
Drought
intolerant

Propagation

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

Seed - sow March/April in a greenhouse[5]. Germination usually takes place within 2 weeks. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and plant them out in early summer. In areas where the plant is towards the limits of its hardiness, it is best to grow the plants on in a greenhouse for their first winter and plant them out in late spring of the following year. Cuttings of half-ripe wood succeed at almost any time in the growing season[5].

Cultivation

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

Requires a very well-drained light sandy soil in a sunny position[5]. Prefers a rich soil[1]. Plants can be killed by excessive winter wet[5]. This species is not very cold-hardy in Britain, tolerating short periods when temperatures fall to about -3°c[8]. An autumn-germination plant in the wild, it might succeed outdoors in the milder areas of the country but is usually either grown as a spring-sown annual in Britain or grown in an alpine greenhouse[1][5]. Members of this genus are rarely if ever troubled by browsing deer[6].

References

  1. F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951-00-00

    ↩1↩2

  2. Yanovsky. E. Food Plants of the N. American Indians. Publication no. 237. U.S. Depf of Agriculture.

    ↩1↩2

  3. Kunkel. G. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books 1984-00-00 ISBN 3874292169

    ↩1↩2

  4. Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990-00-00 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9

    ↩1↩2

  5. Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992-00-00 ISBN 0-333-47494-5

    ↩1↩2↩3↩4↩5

  6. Thomas. G. S. Perennial Garden Plants J. M. Dent & Sons, London. 1990-00-00 ISBN 0 460 86048 8

    ↩

  7. Moerman. D. Native American Ethnobotany Timber Press. Oregon. 1998-00-00 ISBN 0-88192-453-9

    ↩1↩2

  8. Phillips. R. & Rix. M. Conservatory and Indoor Plants Volumes 1 & 2 Pan Books, London. 1998-00-00 ISBN 0-330-37376-5

    ↩1↩2

  9. Munz. A California Flora. University of California Press 1959-00-00

    ↩

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