Salvia glutinosa

Salvia glutinosa, the glutinous sage, sticky sage, Jupiter's sage, or Jupiter's distaff, is a herbaceous perennial plant belonging to the family Lamiaceae.

Description
Salvia glutinosa grows to approximately 40 - 60 cm tall. The stems are erect, with bright green hairy leaves that are about 13 cm long, with petioles of about 8 - 10 cm. The leaves are deciduous, toothed, pointed, tomentose and glandular. With the first frosts, foliage disappears and the plant is ready to overwinter in dormant buds.

All parts of the plant are covered with sticky glandular hairs, especially the lime-green calyces and the flowers, resulting in the name "glutinosa". These sticky hairs probably have a protective function against predators. Salvia glutinosa is the main host plant of the plant bug Macrotylus quadrilineatus, that feeds on the juices of the plant and on small insects entrapped on this sticky sage.

Flowers grow in whorls of two to six, with pale yellow flowers speckled with maroon. The flowers are supported by tiny persistent bracts and have a length of 3 - 5 cm, which is quite big for a sage. The flowers have two stamens and a bell-shaped calyx. The flowering period extends from June to September.

This species has been reported to contain salvinorin A. However, this report has not been replicated, and a previous study of 441 Salvia species from many regions found salvinorin A only in Salvia divinorum, from Mexico.

Distribution
This plant is native to Central and East Europe, and West Asia. It is grown in gardens.

Habitat
Salvia glutinosa is found in forested areas in deciduous and mixed woods especially in the shade and partial shade and in calcareous soils, at an altitude of 100 - 1600 m above sea level.