Wonder Plant #001 - Sage (Salvia Officinalis), a common garden plant with lots of uses.

Hello Steemit!

I was just inspired by Hive account@planetmindbody, who recently posted about dandelion and how it helped people struggling with cancer get better, to write posts about plants that I think can be useful for our daily lives. 

*Always be careful when you use plants as medicine, you should always consult your doctor first. Do not take any of this for granted, do your own research. 

Wonder Plant #001 - Sage (Salvia Officinalis)

                                                

The genus name Salvia comes from Salvus, Latin for "safe" or "well". It was given to the plant as a recognition of it's medicinal properties. The word Sage comes from the French name of the plant: Sauge.

Commonly found in gardens and supermarkets, sage is a perennial plant that flowers between June and July. It produces edible leaves that are known to have medicinal properties, it is known as an antihydrotic, antispasmodic, astringent, it reduces perspiration and night sweats, calms trembling, eases depression, vertigo and can be used against warts. It also eliminates mucous congestion in the respiratory passages and helps with difficult digestion and acidity.

The leaves have to be collected before the plant flowers and can be prepared in an infusion of 1 tsp of dried leaves in 1/2 a cup of water for 30 minutes. It can also be made into a tincture.

      

Useful links:

Here is an article about making your own tinctures.

Here is an article about farming sage.

Here are recipes you can make with fresh sage.

Sources

• Lust, John. The Herb Book. 1974. Bantham Books. p.342.
• Prevention Magazine Health Books. The Complete Book of Natural & Medicinal Cures. 1994. Berkley Health Reference. p. 364.

Edit: 

• 22/6/17 - formatting, links.
• 23/6/17 - origins of the name of the plant
• 24/6/17 - tags