Salvia aethiopis - African sage

Salvia aethiopis, the Ethiopian sage, first forms a woolly, silvery-grey rosette, very visible at ground level. Its white flower spikes rise in a branched panicle resembling a candelabra. Plant this dry-ground sage in full sun, in a chalky rockery, on a stony bank or in a gravel border. Cut back its flower stems after flowering if you do not want it to self-seed.

This species belongs to the Lamiaceae family, like all sages, thymes and phlomis. It bears the common name Ethiopian sage, but does not originate from that country: it is found from southern and eastern Europe to western and central Asia. Its main botanical synonyms are Salvia lanata, Sclarea aethiopis, Sclarea lanata and Salvia kochiana. In the wild, it grows in dry grass, open fallows, stony slopes, roadsides and rocky areas, often on limestone substrate. It is a biennial to short-lived perennial. The plant forms a rosette in the first year, usually flowers after the first winter, then exhausts itself after producing its seeds. The rosette reaches 40 to 60cm in diameter. It consists of lower leaves with long petioles, oval to triangular, deeply crinkled or lobed and very rough to the touch. Their surface is covered with white woolly hairs, especially on young leaves and on the underside. The flower stem rises between 60 and 90cm. The stems are square in section, robust and well-branched in the upper part. The higher leaves are smaller, sessile, more or less curved outward. The white to yellowish-white flowers are arranged in spaced whorls on a large pyramidal panicle. Each corolla measures 1.5 to 2.5cm and has an upper lip curved like a sickle. The calyces are covered with white wool and end in small stiff teeth. Flowering occurs from June to August, or May to June in hot climates. After flowering, the flowers produce small dry fruits divided into four nutlets. In very dry regions, the mature stems may detach and roll in the wind, dispersing the seeds.

Plant Salvia aethiopis in small groups to enjoy its silvery rosettes before the flower stems appear. In a gravel garden, pair it with Eryngium planum Magical White Lagoon®, Verbascum bombyciferum ‘Polarsommer’, Stipa gigantea and Ballota pseudodictamnus. Plant all these perennials in poor, well-drained soil and water only during the first season.