Salvia sclarea
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| Salvia sclarea | ||||||||||||||
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| Salvia sclarea L. |
Salvia sclarea, clary, or clary sage, is a biennial herb in the genus Salvia which is native throughout Europe and east and central Asia, but which was historically mostly found in southern France, Italy, Switzerland, and Syria. At maturity it reaches 1 m in height and has opposing, wooly-texture leaves that are 10-20 cm long and 6-12 cm broad. Its flowers appear in several clusters of 2-6 on the stem, are 2.5-3.5 cm long, and are white, pink, or pale purple in color. Clary has a strong and unusual odour that is considered unpleasant by some and very attractive to others.
Today it is mostly grown in England, France, and southern Russia for the perfume industry.
[edit] Uses
The distilled essential oil is occasionally found in specialty stores and scent shops. This odor is sometimes described as "sweaty", spicy, or "hay-like".
Clary seeds have a mucilaginous coat, which is why some old herbals recommended placing a seed into the eye of someone with a foreign object in it so that it could adhere to the object and make it easy to remove.[citation needed]
The leaves have also been used as a vegetable.
In ales, clary was used as a flavoring before the use of hops became common. Additionally it has been used to flavor wine, notably muscatel, and some tobacco products.
[edit] References
- Huxley, A; et al, (Eds) (1992). New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. Macmillan.
- German: Wikipedia: Muskatellersalbei
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