Sage, Latin scientific name: Salvia farinacea; aliases: , Yuandan, Virgin's grass, Sage, sage for vegetables, a bunch of blue, etc. It is an evergreen aromatic shrub of the family Sage of the family Lipaceae, native to southern Europe from Spain to the northern shores of the Mediterranean Sea. China began to introduce sage in the 1980s, and there are different amounts of cultivation in Zhejiang, southern Anhui, Jiangsu, and other places.
sage
Sage is a perennial herb with a well-developed root system, multi-branched above ground, clumpy, growing stems close to wood, shorter, generally 30-50 cm tall, crown width 100 cm. The leaves are opposite, oval, grey-green, serrated, with special grid-like veins and a concave and convex patterned leaf surface. The petiole is long and densely covered with white hairs. The flowering period is in the summer, light blue, sometimes white or pink, with a pungent fragrance. Seeds black nuts, nearly spherical in shape, 1,000 grains weigh 4 g.
Sage prefers a warm, sunny, well-ventilated environment, does not choose soil, is resistant to barrenness, drought, but not waterlogging, and is preferably cultivated in sandy loam soils with rich calcareous and well-drained soils or deep loam soils. The general requirement is 220-1100 meters above sea level. The germination temperature of sage is 20-25 ° C, the growth temperature is 15-30 ° C, and it takes 10-15 days to germinate. Sage has strong hardiness, can tolerate low temperatures of -15 ° C, in Xinjiang, Hebei and other places in winter with cover can safely overwinter. Partially dead on the open-field overwintering sage grass on the outskirts of Beijing, new leaves sprout in the spring of the following year, and sage can be used as a green or ground cover in the Beijing area. It is cultivated annually in extremely cold areas.
Sage is a very old medicinal plant in Europe, used for more than 1,000 years, the ancient Arabs called it immortal medicine, per 100g fresh sample contains 1.25g of reducing sugar, protein 4.38g, cellulose 5.76g, vitamin C2.2mg and minerals such as iron calcium, as well as aromatic (essential) oils. In addition, it also contains picrins, xanthanoids, tannic acid and other substances, which have the functions of antibacterial, epidemic prevention, antiseptic and shrinkage of soft tissues of the body. As early as the Middle Ages, it has been used to remove impurities, ward off epidemics, and treat constipation, malaria, colds, sheep epilepsy and other diseases. Many varieties of sage in China, such as Yunnan sage and Ganxi sage, are chinese herbal medicines that have been widely used in China for a long time. Their chemical composition can be used as a substitute for salvia
Sage is also known as "the vanilla of the poor". As early as the 16th century, when the British did not know tea, they often brewed sage as tea. This practice is still quite popular today. Sage is also an aromatic vegetable with high potassium, low sodium, high calcium and low aluminum. Mostly used to give incense, can be made into a juice alone or as a sauce, curry juice, etc. added to the dish, has a strong aroma, because of the slight bitterness or astringency, suitable for meat and fish seasoning. Italians use it as a healthy food, often with bread and butter. The flowers can be eaten cold. Sage and cinnamon are added to brandy to make a sweet dew wine with a strong heart effect.
At present, the propagation of sage is mostly propagated by sowing, cuttings and splitting. Generally, seeds are picked in July, sown in April, or cut cuttings. Germination begins at 12-15 °C, and it is divided or colonized in May. But the traditional method is not only slow, but also limited by time. Researcher Li Changxiao's invention of plant non-test tube efficient and fast propagation technology can solve this problem, seedlings can be bred all year round, and has successfully and rapidly bred sage plants, including a string of red and salvia and other crops. Moreover, the technology is extremely adaptable, simple to operate, low in large-scale production costs, high reproductive coefficient, growing by geometric quantity, and rapidly supplying the market. Plant non-test tube efficient fast propagation technology is a new plant cloning system, completely out of the laboratory conditions, the seedling facilities are simple. Compared with tissue culture, the fast propagation input is tens of times lower, which greatly saves the germplasm material than conventional seedlings, and the amount of explants used for propagation unit material is 3 to 8 times less than that of conventional seedlings; the inoculation speed is extremely fast, which is 3 to 5 times that of tissue culture, and the labor efficiency is extremely high.