Salvia pratensis L.

Fibrous-rooted perennial 3–6 dm; lvs mostly basal, long-petioled, ovate-oblong, 7–12 cm, irregularly serrate or crenate; cauline lvs few, smaller; racemes 1–2 dm, interrupted; fls 4–8 per node, the bracteal lvs broadly ovate, green, mostly under 1 cm; cal villosulous, the upper lip broadly ovate, minutely 3-toothed, two-thirds as long as the tube, and much shorter than the acute or aristate lobes of the lower lip; cor blue (1.5–)2–3 cm (smaller in pistillate fls), the upper lip arched into a half-circle and laterally flattened; 2n=18. Native of s. and c. Europe, occasionally found as a weed in fields and pastures in our range. June–Aug.

It is a temperate plant. It can grow on dry meadows and on chalk or limestone soils. It suits hardiness zone 4-10. Hobart Botanical Gardens.

The leaves are used in salads and soups. They can be bitter. They have been used for flavouring beer and wine.

Can be grown by cuttings or seedlings. Seeds needs stratification.