Salvia officinalis( Salvia officinalis L.).

The Latin name sage - salvia - comes from the words "health" or "salvation".One of the Latin sayings is:

Contra vim mortis

Crescit salvia in hortis.

( Against the power of death, sage grows in the gardens.)

Most of the sage species comes from Asia Minor and the Mediterranean. The plant is known and appreciated by many peoples of the Ancient World, centuries using it for healing and as a spice in cooking. The ancient Egyptians revered him as a means of infertility, in times of epidemics and wars, women were prescribed to consume sage for food( to enhance the defenses of the body).Greeks appreciated the properties of sage to strengthen the senses, mental powers, mind and restore memory. Famous Greek doctors Hippocrates and Dioscorides considered it a sacred grass and the most effective agent for female infertility. Roman doctors recommended infusions of sage for diseases of digestion, kidney and menstrual irregularities. Sage fruits - nuts - fried and ate with rapid heartbeats and dysentery. Shredded fresh leaves of

sage were applied for healing to wounds and tumors. Druids believed that with the help of sage can be resurrected to life.

Thanks to the Romans conquerors with sage, other nations of the then Europe, including the ancient Britons, also met. In England there are still many legends and beliefs associated with this plant. In the Middle Ages and later it was used in conspiracies against witches. This plant has traditionally been considered hostile to the vine - the antennae of the grapes turn away from it. Therefore, sage was used to treat addiction to hot drinks. In a medical treatise of the XVII century, this method of helping with poisoning was cited: "Mix crushed sage with cabbage and take a little, how much will fit on a sixpenny coin, in the morning before eating."The sage also treated sore throats, fever, bleeding, healed wounds, was taken with insomnia and overwork, memory disorders. Fresh teeth were rubbed with teeth for cleaning and bleaching before the invention of tooth powder and paste. Sage, as well as rosemary, was often scattered on the grave of the deceased as a sign that they would retain memories for a long time. Perhaps, the symbol of longevity is sage and became because, being ripped off, it is able to keep freshness for a long time. Torn from the ground plant hung in the house, believing that it will communicate the truth about the health of the departed relatives and friends.

It was believed that sage grows best among sages. And according to another English belief, the most lush bushes grew in the garden of those women who were firmly holding in their hands both their household and their husband. Sage leaves girls used in love fortune-telling. In order to see the betrothed in reality or in a vision, it was necessary to tear down twelve leaves of sage at midnight on the eve of Ivanov or Markov of the day;at each stroke of the clock tore off the leaf - it should have been done so that they all remained intact. Then it was guaranteed that you will see how the future bridegroom comes to you from behind.

By the way, ancient and medieval beliefs that sage is able to help with memory disorders are not without foundation. Now this property of a plant is checked in England with the help of scientific experiments. Experimental volunteers who regularly received clary sage oil significantly improved their mnemonic abilities compared to the control group of people given the usual vegetable oil. It is possible that on the basis of sage can be developed a drug that returns lost abilities to capture information. Such a tool is extremely necessary for suffering Alzheimer's disease and other ailments associated with memory loss - and there are tens of millions of such patients on Earth.

Salvia officinalis is a perennial plant, sprawling, but not high - from 30 to 60 cm.

The root of the medicinal sage is powerful, woody, the stems are straight, branched, strongly leafy. Leaves opposite, oblong, up to 8 cm long;lower - petiolate, upper - sessile;have a greyish-gray hue, pubescent. Young leaves are distinguished by a strong pleasant aroma and bitter taste.

Flowers are collected on 6-10 in whorls, forming a loose apical spike inflorescence. The corollas of flowers are bilabiate, painted in blue-violet, pink or white. The fruit consists of 4 round nuts dark brown or black. Blossoms sage in May-July, seeds ripen in August-September. This is an excellent honey plant.

Homeland of the sage medicinal - Mediterranean. It occurs in the European part of Russia, except in the northern regions, as well as in the Caucasus, Siberia, the mountains and foothills of Central Asia. It grows on dry slopes of hills and mountains, along forest edges, in gardens, along roads, along river banks. Cultivated in specialized state farms of Moldova, Ukraine, Krasnodar Territory, Crimea, the North Caucasus.