Salvia elegans

Salvia elegans, commonly called pineapple sage or tangerine sage,[1] is a perennial shrub native to Mexico. It inhabits Madrean and Mesoamerican pine-oak forests between 6,000 and 9,000 ft (1,800 and 2,700 m).[2]

Salvia elegans
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Lamiales
Family: Lamiaceae
Genus: Salvia
Species:
S. elegans
Binomial name
Salvia elegans
Synonyms

Salvia rutilans Carrière

Description

Salvia elegans has tubular red flowers and an attractive scent to the leaves that is similar to pineapple. It produces numerous erect leafy stems and flowers in the late autumn. The red flowers are attractive to hummingbirds and butterflies. In a highland temperate forest in central Mexico, pineapple sage was found to be one of the three most-visited species by hummingbirds.[3] It is a short-day plant. The flowering season in Mexico is August onward; further north it may not flower till later autumn, and if there is no frost, it may flower until Spring.

Cultivation

In cultivation, pineapple sage grows to 1.2 to 1.5 m (3.9 to 4.9 ft) tall, with the roots extending underground to form a large clump. The pale yellow-green leaves are veined, and covered with fine hairs. Six to twelve scarlet flowers grow in whorls, with a long inflorescence that blooms gradually and over a prolonged period of time. With a hard frost, the plant will die down to the ground and grow back the following spring. Pineapple sage was introduced into horticulture about 1870.[2]

The variety "Honey Melon", which has the same pineapple fragrance in the leaves, blooms early in the summer, rather than in autumn.[2]

Phytochemistry

The essential oil of S. elegans consists primarily of caffeic acid and its derivatives, such as rosmarinic acid and salvianolic acid, and flavones.[4]

Uses

The leaves and flowers of S. elegans are edible.[5] The plant is used in Mexican traditional medicine, especially for anxiety and hypertension.[6]

References
  1. Greenwalks: Tangerine Sage
  2. Clebsch, Betsy; Barner, Carol D. (2003). The New Book of Salvias. Timber Press. pp. 115–117. ISBN 978-0-88192-560-9.
  3. Lara, Carlos (Mar 2006). "Temporal dynamics of flower use by hummingbirds in a highland temperate forest in Mexico". Ecoscience. 13 (1): 23–29. doi:10.2980/1195-6860(2006)13[23:TDOFUB]2.0.CO;2.
  4. Pereira, Olívia R.; Catarino, Marcelo D.; Afonso, Andrea F.; Silva, Artur M. S.; Cardoso, Susana M. (2018). "Salvia elegans, Salvia greggii and Salvia officinalis Decoctions: Antioxidant Activities and Inhibition of Carbohydrate and Lipid Metabolic Enzymes". Molecules. 23 (12): 3169. doi:10.3390/molecules23123169. PMC 6321363. PMID 30513773.
  5. Hanson, Beth (2001). Gourmet Herbs. Brooklyn Botanic Garden. p. 90. ISBN 978-1-889538-21-1.
  6. Herrera-Ruiza, Maribel; García-Beltrána, Yolanda; Morab, Sergio; Díaz-Véliz, Gabriela; Vianac, Glauce S.B.; Tortorielloa, Jaime; Ramíreza, Guillermo (Aug 2006). "Antidepressant and anxiolytic effects of hydroalcoholic extract from Salvia elegans". Journal of Ethnopharmacology. 107 (1): 53–8. doi:10.1016/j.jep.2006.02.003. PMID 16530995.
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