common sage Lamiaceae Salvia
officinalis L.
symbol: SAOF2
Leaf: Opposite, simple, evergreen, narrowly elliptical to ovate in shape, to 5 inches in length; wrinkled, woolly-tomentose and gray-green above and below; very aromatic.
Flower: Species is monoecious; mostly purple but white and pink varieties exist, in whorls borne on upright spikes; individual flowers to 1/2 inch with pea-like corollas; very aromatic; appearing mid-summer.
Fruit: Small shiny brown-black nutlets borne in husks.
Twig: Green to gray-brown and pale-tomentose.
Bark: Becoming shreddy and gray-brown.
Form: A rounded straggling shrub to three feet tall with weakly woody stems.