Salvia argentea


Salvia argentea, the silver sage, silver salvia, or silver clary, is a biennial or short-lived perennial plant that is native to an area in southern Europe from Portugal to Bulgaria. Its specific epithet, argentea, refers to the silvery leaves.

Description

Salvia argentea has a large spread of basal leaves that measure wide and high. The individual leaves are long and wide. Both leaf surfaces are heavily covered with silky hairs that give it a wooly appearance. The leaves are soft to the touch, first emerging as a distinctive silvery white and then turning to grey-green after flowering. Cool weather in the autumn turns the leaves silvery again.
Flowers appear in spring or summer on candelabra-like stalks that rise well above the foliage. The inconspicuous white flowers are tinged with yellow or pink. Cutting the flowers before they set seed results in a long-lived plant.