How do you recognise Meadow clary (Salvia pratensis)?

Leaf

Michel Pansiot, Tela Botanica · CC BY-SA 2.0

Meadow clary

Salvia pratensis L.

Also known as: Meadow sage

Family: Lamiaceae

40 to 80 cm tall

Dry meadows, banks, often on chalky soil

Flowering: May – July

Full sun

Part shade

Hardy to -15°C

❓ How do you recognise this plant?

One of the most vivid blue-violets of our meadows, with the characteristic square stem of the Lamiaceae. Cultivated common sage has thick, crinkled, grey-green, very aromatic leaves, whereas wild meadow clary has thinner, less aromatic leaves and smaller blue-violet flowers in loose spikes.

🍃 Leaves

In a basal rosette, crinkled, toothed

🌸 Flowers

Bright blue-violet, in widely spaced whorls along an erect spike, square stem

🍎 Fruits

Small brown achenes

🪵 Bark

Square herbaceous stem, typical of the Lamiaceae

🗺️ Distribution

Europe, western Asia; common in dry chalk grassland in France.

🐝 Value for pollinators

Blue-violet flowers with a see-saw pollination mechanism, specially adapted to bumblebees.

✂️ Horticultural uses

Flowery meadows, dry borders, edgings; very decorative blue summer flowering.

⚠️ Possible toxicity

No known toxicity.

⚠️ Look-alike species

Meadow clary

Salvia pratensis

Common sage

Salvia officinalis

Cultivated common sage has thick, crinkled, grey-green, very aromatic leaves, whereas wild meadow clary has thinner, less aromatic leaves and smaller blue-violet flowers in loose spikes.

Meadow clary

Salvia pratensis

Balkan clary

Salvia nemorosa

Meadow clary has larger bright blue-violet flowers, more widely spaced in loose whorls along the spike, and its leaves are mostly grouped in a basal rosette, whereas woodland sage has small violet-blue flowers packed in a dense, continuous spike, with coloured bracts that persist even after the petals have fallen, and leaves borne all along the stem.

🌿 Other Lamiaceae to discover

English lavender

Lavandula angustifolia

Rosemary

Salvia rosmarinus

Bluebeard

Caryopteris x clandonensis

Chaste tree

Vitex agnus-castus

ℹ️ Educational profile — do not use it to judge whether a plant is edible or safe.

🌱 This database is constantly evolving — species and information are added and corrected regularly. Spotted a mistake? Report it below.